Veggie Bean Chilli

Bean chilli with quick-pickled onions
  • Time: 2 hours
  • Makes: roughly 5 servings

Ingredients:

  • 2 x 200g tins kidney beans
  • 2 x 200g tins black beans (or 1 x 200g tin black beans and 1 x 200g butter beans)
  • 1 tin peeled plum tomatoes
  • 2 red peppers (bell combined with pointed works nicely)
  • 1 dried mulato chilli pepper (rehydrated in 1 inch water)
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 3 small red onions (or 1 large red onion)
  • 1 veg stock cube (homemade or bought)

Seasoning:

  • 1-1.5 tsp hot chilli powder
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin (if you have smoked paprika, you can omit this)
  • 0.5 tsp dried chilli flakes
  • Optional: dried chipotle chilli (minced), or 1.5 tsp chipotle paste, jalapeno powder

Toppings:

  • Juice of 1 whole lime
  • Red or green chilli
  • 1 small red onion (instructions for pickling below)
  • Clear vinegar (white wine vinegar is fine if you don’t have plain)
  • Sour cream
  • Grated cheese
  • Green veg (optional)
  • Paprika potatoes (optional)

Method:

  1. Preheat oven on fan to 180C
  2. Drain and rinse the beans thoroughly, shake to get excess water off
  3. Blend tinned peeled plum tomatoes.
  4. If using, deseed and chop the red pepper, making sure to remove the pith as it gives a bitter taste.
  5. Finely dice the 3 red onions and mince the garlic. Lightly salt both.
  6. Heat a large dutch oven on medium-low, then add just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Once the oil is hot, put the onion in the pan and stir to coat. Let soften and develop fond on the bottom of the pot (7-10 minutes). Add the red pepper once the onion is soft, stir, and cook for a further 5 minutes.
  7. Blend the mulato chilli in the water to create a thin paste – it’s fine if some unblended chilli remains. Add this liquid to the pot and cook let the peppers and onion soak up the flavour.
  8. Add the beans and garlic to the pot, and mix. Keep an eye on the heat, as the garlic should not burn. After 5 minutes, add all the spices and oregano and stir to combine.
  9. OPTIONAL: Take a potato masher and crush about 1/3 of the chilli to get a more interesting texture and thicken the dish.
  10. Boil kettle and dissolve stock cube in 400ml of water. Add to the pot and let bubble for a few minutes.
  11. Add the tomatoes, stir to combine, and place in the oven with the lid off. Check on it after 30 minutes and taste for seasoning. It usually takes about 1 full hour to thicken properly.
  12. OPTIONAL: While the chilli is in the oven, you can prepare the pickled onions. Thinly slice the small red onion into half-moons and separate the layers. Put these in a bowl with 1.5tsp of salt and sugar each, and just cover with your choice of vinegar (not balsamic or malt…). Stir to combine and taste – you might want more sugar or salt according to your preferences.
  13. If you are serving with potatoes, now is the time to wash, chop, rinse them of excess starch, and preheat the baking tray. Pieces just over 0.5 inches wide will take about 20 minutes in the oven, so time this accordingly with when you think your chilli will be ready. After rinsing pat dry and lightly salt. Pat dry again after about 5 minutes, and toss with 1tsp paprika and a drizzle of vegetable oil. Place on preheated baking tray and roast.
  14. Just before everything is ready, grate your choice of cheese, thinly slice your red or green chilli into rounds, and get your sour cream out of the fridge! Squeeze lime directly into the chilli for a light acidic lift.
  15. Serve in bowls with your toppings and any accompanying veg to the side.

Perdi’s tips:

Thickening – there are several things you can do to help the chilli thicken. You can make a small slurry of 0.5 tsp of cornstarch mixed with 1-2tsp water and add that. Some people add bits of ripped up soft tortilla, but this means you no longer have control over the amount of salt tin the dish, so it can be overkill. Another method is to mash a bit more of the chilli after it’s been in the oven for a bit. Keeping the lid off will help it thicken, and if you have time, you can bring it to a boil on the hob after adding the stock before putting it in the oven to evaporate some excess water.

If you want to add extra veg to the chilli, be aware they will release water which will slow the cooking process.

Removing the pith of the red pepper and the germ of the garlic (the middle bit which turns green over time) will reduce bitterness, and I recommend to do this in any recipe.