Chipotle Vegetarian Chilli

How is it July already????? Seriously, how?

I am perplexed. I know everyone’s probably thinking the same thing, but seriously. This whole “time getting away from us” thing has got to stop. Maybe we all just need to down tools and relax for a while. Read a book, take a bike ride, have a picnic. I don’t know. But what I do know is that if half a year flies by and I wonder where it went, I’m probably doing something wrong.

Speaking of wrong, I’ve had some pretty bad meals recently. Not bad as in unhealthy (although they weren’t the healthiest), but bad as in not good. Through no fault of my own, I seem to have either made bad choices when I’ve eaten out or have just been served distinctly “blah” food. This makes me really sad. Remember my food hits and misses series? Maybe I need to bring that back, if only for this past couple of weeks.

I’m talking flavourless, bland and unappealing. In one instance, I was served baby gem lettuce on a pizza. Cooked. Of all the weird pizza toppings I’ve been served around the world (Mexican variations of pizza toppings are particularly intriguing) this was definitely one of the worst. It was wilted, soggy and flavourless. Let’s all make a pact that lettuce should never be cooked on pizza. Ever.

Ok, now that’s off my chest, let’s talk about this amazing vegetarian chilli.

I’ve been making this chilli (or a variation of it) for years, but only recently tried it as a vegetarian version because Scott and I are now trying to eat a vegetarian diet whenever we can.  I have to say I was skeptical about vegetarian meat-replacement products, but I’m now totally a fan!

We used Provamel crumbled “beef” in this dish (basically flavoured crumbled tofu) and you wouldn’t have been able to tell that it wasn’t real minced beef. It was just as hearty, filling and tasty. Plus, the extra kick from the chipotle chiles in the sauce just makes everything extra tasty.

Another bonus of this recipe is that it’s packed with veggies and beans. It’s like a healthy hug in a bowl. Except it tastes wickedly decadent.

This chilli needs an hour or two to simmer on the stovetop, in order to thicken the sauce and give it wonderfully smoky flavour. And I should warn you that it makes enough for around 6-8 people. If there are just two of you, there will be a *lot* of leftovers, but that’s partly why I love it. I make a big pot of it and freeze or refrigerator the leftovers for meals later in the week.

I’ve enjoyed it over rice, in tortilla wraps and in a bowl topped with chopped onions and cheese (Cincinnati style) and it’s perfectly versatile.

Plus, I will never serve it to you with cooked lettuce on the top, so there’s always that.

Chipotle Vegetarian Chilli

Recipe by Julia

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

Ingredients

• 2 medium onions, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 medium carrots, diced

• 2 sticks celery, diced

• 2 red peppers, diced

• Olive oil

• 1 tsp chilli powder

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• Salt and pepper

• 400g tin chickpeas

• 400g tin red kidney beans

• 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

• 450g (1 pound) crumbled vegetarian beef (soya/tofu version)

• 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped

Directions

• Add 4 tbsp olive oil to a large cooking pot and place over a medium high heat on the stove. Tip in all of your chopped vegetables as well as the chilli powder, cumin, cinnamon and a little salt and pepper.
• Cook for around 10 minutes, until the vegetables have started to soften.
• Drain the tins of chickpeas and kidney beans and add them to the pan, along with both of the tins of chopped tomatoes. Fill up one of the empty tins with cold water and add that to the pan, too. Tip in your crumbled beef and stir to combine.
• Add the balsamic vinegar and chipotle chiles and another pinch of salt and pepper. Stir.
• Bring the chilli to the boil and then turn down the heat and simmer for around 45 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally.
• Remove the lid and continue to cook for at least another 15 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.