#MeatFreeWeek – veggie chilli

Autumn is my favourite time of year and it feels like my life centres around warm, orange and red hues. This is especially so in the kitchen – squash, marrow, beetroot, sweet potato, carrots…

With the mild days and cool nights, a veggie chilli packs a good punch with lots of vitamin C to combat those back-to-school colds. Another one-pot meal for the whole family (depending on the spices you use). My weapon of choice for this one is my trusty Le Creuset cast iron pot.

I also use a special ingredient in this one… a shot of coffee! Don’t let that put you off. A shot of coffee adds a lovely earthy, smokey flavour to the dish.

All other ingredients are from farm stalls or the larger farm shops on the island.

Ingredients

2 x shallots or small onions (finely sliced)
3 x garlic cloves (finely sliced)
2 x sticks of celery (finely sliced)
2 x teaspoons of cajun spice mix
1 x teaspoon ground cumin
2 x teaspoon ground coriander
1 x teaspoon smoked paprika
1 x teaspoon coriander leaves (dried or fresh)
1 x shot of coffee (good quality instant or freshly ground is best)
1/2 sweet potato (cubed)
1 x small swede (cubed)
1 x small butternut (cubed)
1 x red pepper (roasted in the oven for 10 mins and cut into thick, long slices)
1 x tin of mixed beans
5 x large tomatoes (peeled) or 1 x tin of  whole tomatoes

Optional: Sweet corn, mushrooms, red chillies, chilli powder

To serve: wholemeal wraps, wholemeal rice, sliced avocado, natural yogurt or feta cheese.

Method

1. Heat a good glug of olive oil on the medium heat hob in a large, oven-proof dish with a lid. Turn the oven to 150ºC.
2. Add the garlic, celery and onions and cook until soft.
3. Add all the spices, except if you’re using fresh corriander then leave it until later on. Pinch of salt and pepper.
4. Add the swede and butternut and make sure it gets a good coating in the spices.  Cook for 5 mins on a medium heat.
5. Add your freshly peeled tomatoes or your tin of tomatoes. Keep your fresh tomatoes whole as it will keep the naturally sweet flavour. You may want to add about 200ml of water to your dish at this point to keep it moist whilst in the oven.
6. Add the sweet potato and the shot of coffee. Give everything a good stir.
7. Put the lid on and put in the oven. Let it cook for a good hour before adding the beans and red pepper. If you’re adding mushrooms this would also be the time to add them in.
8. Stir now and again and leave it to cook for another 30 minutes in the oven. You want the vegetables to be soft, but not turn to mush. You also want the consistency to be slightly sticky. If there is too much water then put your dish on the hob for a bit with the lid off.

I accidentally deleted the photo of the finished article on my phone, so here is an image from Google of what you’re aiming for.