Vegetarian Chilli
Recipe by Marnie Nitschke, Accredited Practicing Dietitian at Fork That Nutrition & Cockatoo Grove Ambassador.
If you don’t quite know where to start with meat free Mondays, this dish is a crash course for you. It’s full of quality vegetarian protein, fibre and antioxidants that your gut bugs are really going to love.
Once you’ve done your chopping and put this on to cook, the chilli will pretty much look after itself. Just make sure you give it a good stir every 10 minutes to stop the lentils forming a crust on the bottom and burning.
Vegetarian Chilli freezes really well if you’re meal prepping. I serve it over brown basmati rice, with sour cream, chopped avocado, grated cheese and some natural tortilla chips. You can also pile it into tacos, burritos or on top of loaded nachos.
Serves: 6
Plant based, GF
INGREDIENTS
1 large onion
1 large celery stick
2 capsicums – one red, one green
3-4 cloves garlic.
1 heaped tbs each of ground cumin and coriander
1 tbs smoked paprika
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 cups vegetable stock
¾ cup (1 small jar) chipotle sauce
1 tin red kidney beans
1 tin of black beans
¾ cup of dried red lentils
Salt and pepper
A few shakes of chilli powder if you’re game
METHOD
1. Roughly chop the onion, capsicum, garlic and celery and measure out your spice mix.
2. Heat the oil over medium in a large, heavy based pot, and sauté the vegetables until soft (~5 mins), then add the spices and stir for a minute or two until fragrant.
3. Now add the chopped tomatoes, stock, chipotle sauce, rinsed and drained beans and lentils.
4. Bring to a gentle simmer, then cook, partially covered, for around 20-30 minutes, until it reaches a thick consistency. Take the lid off if it needs to reduce further. I usually taste as I go, adding salt and adjusting the seasoning accordingly. You can add a sprinkle of chilli powder or flakes toward the end if you’re not feeding spice-o-phobes.
5. Serve with fresh chopped coriander and a blob of sour cream or plant based yoghurt, over brown rice, tacos or nachos, with trimmings of your choice.
