Vegetarian Lentil Chilli with Black Beans, Sweetcorn and Chickpeas
Extremely tasty vegetarian chilli packing a huge flavour punch whilst also including a wealth of nutrients.
Ingredients
- 2 onions/250g peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 red, orange or yellow peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped, roughly 300 – 350g
- 32g/8 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 – 6 teaspoons Mexican chilli spice. (I use 5 teaspoons) (See Recipe Notes for alternative.)
- 1 cup of red or green lentils or a mixture of pearl barley, pearl spelt, red split lentils and mung beans
- 1 x 400g tin of red kidney beans in chilli sauce (plus 125ml of water to swill out the tin)
- 1 x 400g tin chick peas, drained and rinsed
- 1 x 400g tin of black beans, drained and rinsed
-
1 x 340g tin of sweetcorn, drained or 280 - 300g frozen sweetcorn
- 70g tablespoons tomato puree
- 1 teaspoon runny honey or brown sugar
- 1 - 1½ teaspoons salt (I use 1¼ teaspoons)
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 500g passata (plus 250ml of water to swill out the bottle/carton)
- 500ml vegetable stock
Instructions
-
Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
-
Preheat oven to Fan Oven 130°C /150°C/300°F/Gas 2
-
Place the roughly chopped onions, peppers and garlic in the food processor and pulse until chopped to your liking. We like ours finely chopped. You may have to scrape down the sides of the processor bowl and pulse again.
-
Heat the olive oil over a moderate heat and add the chopped vegetables.
-
Cook for around 5 minutes until the vegetables have softened and lightly caramelised. Stir from time to time.
-
Add the Mexican Spice Mix and stir to mix. Cook for a couple of minutes until aromatic.
-
Add the lentils, red kidney beans, chick peas, black beans, sweetcorn and tomato puree as well as the salt and pepper and sugar.
-
Half fill the kidney beans tin with water, swill and pour into the pan.
-
Add the passata.
-
Half fill the passata carton/bottle with water, swill and pour into the pan.
-
Add the vegetable stock, stir thoroughly.
-
Cook in the oven:
Cover with a lid and transfer to the oven and cook for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, take it out of the oven and stir well. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary and pop back in the oven for a further 15 minutes.
Cook on the hob:
Alternatively continue to cook on the hob. Turn the heat down to very low, cover and cook for 45 minutes stirring from time to time. After 45 minutes, stir well, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Continue to cook for a further 15 minutes.
Cook in a slow cooker:
You can also cook your chilli in the slow cooker. Simply make as described in the recipe to the end of point 6. Transfer your mixture so far and then add the remaining ingredients to a slow cooker. Cook on high for 3 hours or on low for up to 6 hours.
Liquid:
There will be a lot of liquid in the chilli but this will reduce as it cooks and is absorbed by the lentils.
Recipe Notes
Equipment:
- cast iron casserole/Dutch oven
- saucepan
- chopping board and knife
- measuring spoons/cups and measuring jug and kitchen scales
- food processor
- silicone muffin trays for freezing
- freezer bags
To serve:
- Cooked rice: brown or white, long grain or basmati
- Mexican flatbread
- Avocado or guacamole
- Tomatoes or salsa
- Sour cream
- Grated cheddar cheese
- Fresh coriander leaves
Mexican Spice Mix:
If you do not have any spice mix made up, you can use the following which will give you nearly 5 teaspoons:
- 1 teaspoon ancho grande chilli powder – replace with chilli powder or cayenne if necessary
- 1 teaspoon chipotle powder – replace with smoked paprika if necessary
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano