Chili sin Carne

What you need

• Heavy-based pan or casserole
• Saucepan with a lid

Ingredients

• 2 tbspolive oil
• 1 large (about 200 g)onion, diced
• 2red peppers, diced
• 3 clovesgarlic, finely chopped
• 2 tspground cumin
• 2 tspsmoked paprika
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 1-2chipotle chillies in adobo, chopped— or 1 tsp chilli powder
• 2 tins (800 g)kidney beans— drained and rinsed — about 480 g
• 1 tin (400 g)black beans— drained and rinsed — about 240 g
• 400 gtinned chopped tomatoes
• 200 gsweetcorn— tinned or frozen
• 1lime
• 240 glong-grain rice— weighed dry, 60 g per portion

How to make it

1. 1

   Cook the onion and peppers in the olive oil over medium-high heat for 10 minutes without stirring much — you want real dark patches on the pepper, not softened vegetables. That char is where a plant-based chili gets the depth meat would otherwise give it.

2. 2

   Turn the heat down, add the garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano and chipotle, and stir for a minute in the hot oil.

3. 3

   Add the tomatoes and both tins of drained beans with 200 ml of water. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 25 minutes, crushing some of the beans against the side of the pan as you stir. The crushed beans are what thicken it; without them, chili sin carne stays soupy.

4. 4

   Stir the sweetcorn in for the last 5 minutes only, so it stays sweet and firm against the soft beans. Cook the rice while the chili simmers.

5. 5

   Finish off the heat with salt and the juice of the lime. The acid at the end is what lifts half an hour of beans and tomato out of flatness — add it in the pan, not at the table.

6. 6

   Serve over the rice. It is better on day two, and it freezes in portions for three months.

Per serving, roughly

Energy

~595 kcal

Protein

~24 g

Carbs

~90 g

Fat

~10 g

These are estimates calculated from standard ingredient values. Your numbers will shift with the exact products you buy and with how generously you fill the plate — oil, sauces and cheese move them the most.

Variations