Veggie Chia Chilli

I love a good chilli & this vegetarian one is so tasty, meat-eaters will hardly notice the difference! Healthy, vegan, gluten-free, cheap & quick to make & deliciously satisfying for meat-free days. What’s more, this freezes really well too, so sometimes I make a huge vat & freeze portions for later. (Great when you get in after a long day at work or as a quick post-gym meal).

My recipe is enriched with chia seeds to add omega-3s, protein & fibre. As this chilli contains carbs in the beans & sweet potato, I often enjoy eating as a meal in its own right, but you can serve with quinoa, cauliflower rice or wholegrain rice or a simple side salad if preferred.

Serves: 4

Preparation: 10-12 mins

Cooking time: 20-26 mins

Ingredients:

2 red onions

3 plump garlic cloves

250g sweet potato

1 tbsp coconut oil

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp dried oregano

2 fresh chillies or 1-2tsp hot chilli powder (to taste)

1 red pepper, diced

1 can (400g) of chopped tomatoes

250ml stock (I use vegetable bouillon powder)

2 400g cans of beans of choice, drained: kidney, chickpeas, butterbeans, pinto beans, canellini beans, black beans all work well. (In the photos I have used kidney beans & chick peas

1.5 tbsp tomato purée

1 tbsp soya sauce or tamari

1 tsp honey or agave

100g mushrooms, chopped

4 tbsp ground chia seeds

Method:

Peel the red onion & sweet potato & roughly cut into chunks. Place in a food processor or blender along with 3 peeled cloves of garlic. Whizz to coarsely chop. (This gives great texture to the chilli).

Melt coconut oil in a deep pan. Gently brown the chopped onion, garlic sweet potato mixture for about 3-4 mins.

Then add the spices, oregano, fresh or dried chilli & stir for a 2 mins until the aromas of the spices fill the air (be careful not to burn them though as this will impart a bitter flavour).

Then add the diced red pepper, chopped tomatoes, stock, beans of choice, tomato purée, soya sauce, honey & chopped mushrooms. Cook for about 15-20 mins until the sauce thickens.

Then stir in the ground chia seeds & serve.

I have served mine with a sprig of parsley & parmesan, but if you want to keep this vegan, you can always substitute the parmesan for vitamin B12-laden nutritional yeast flakes.