Vegan Chilli Recipe

So this week, I thought I’d share my favourite chilli recipe. I’m a vegetarian, but I try to eat vegan where I can. I’m a big believer that you don’t have to be vegan or even give up meat altogether, but it’s great to start small and have one more meat free meal a week than you normally would. This chilli is one of the easiest things to make, it’s great to make in bulk, and you can throw in whatever you want if some of these veggies aren’t your favourites. I tend to have it with rice, but it can stand alone, or with tacos, salad or couscous.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 1 fresh chilli (I tend to use red, but green would work too)
• 1 aubergine
• 1 courgette
• 1 red pepper
• 1 tin black beans
• 1 tin kidney beans
• 1-2 tins of tomatoes
• Tomato purée
• 1 tbsp olive oil (or other oil of your choice)
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 4 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp mixed herbs
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• Vegetable stock cube

Method:

1. Wash and dry the aubergine and char it. I do this by turning on my gas hob and holding the aubergine over the flame until the skin goes black and the whole thing softens slightly. This isn’t a must, but it gives the aubergine a nice smokey flavour.
2. Next, I chop up my onion and chilli, then heat my oil in a large frying pan and add my onion and chilli to the pan. Then I add my spices. Cook everything until soft, then add all the veggies – the aubergine, pepper, courgette and anything else you want to add. I tend to chop my veggies finely, but you can go for chunkier veggies if you like that kind of texture.
3. Once the vegetables have softened, I add my black beans (to prepare the black beans, just rinse them in cold water).
4. After about 5 minutes, I add the tinned tomatoes. I make this chilli go a long way, so I use 2 tins, but 1 is enough if you add water later on.
5. Next, I add the stock cube, balsamic vinegar and tomato purée.
6. Then I turn the heat down and leave the chilli to simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. After a final stir, it’s ready to serve.

I hope you enjoy this recipe if you give it a go – add whatever you want to add to make it your own!