Legend has it that chili originated in the Wild West, when cowboys camping out would cook up their dried meat in a mixture of broth and chili peppers to make a simple meal for themselves that was nicer than chewing on jerky.  This recipe has absolutely no similarity to any of that excluding it’s name.  It is however absolutely delicious and combines a whopping 9 vegetables so it kind of goes without saying that it’s also infinitely better for you.  Plus it's topped with crunchy roast sweet potatoes.  Things get pretty decadent vegetable wise.  

If you follow the Instagram account (and if not, why?!) you may have got an inkling that in our house we like our food with a south of the border vibe.  Weekend lunches usually consist of a giant bowl of guacamole and some pitta chips with an icy beverage and it certainly doesn’t have to be a Tuesday for it to be Taco day around here.  Smokey flavours coupled with spice and the zing of lime juice is our jam.

As a result of this unbridled passion I’ve tried many different vegan/vegetatrian chilis and as much as I’d like to say otherwise, they all pretty much suck.  They usually involve a meat substitute and end up just being completely texturally unappealing with the unwelcome addition of huge chunks of vegetable in them which, when bitten into, completely overpower the overall flavour of the dish (looking at you green pepper.)  Thus, I’ve come to the resolution that the best course of action is to dice all the vegetables into the same size.  This ensures they cook at the same speed and provides a decent overall texture and flavour experience, which I guess is kind of what you want from food.  The icing on the metaphorical cake in this situation is the sweet potato.  Used as a topping the trick is to keep the cubes small so they caramelise quickly and become a sweet and salty crunchy dream.

I recommend serving this either on top of a bed of spinach and brown rice, or even better making tacos.  In fact, definitely make tacos.  Either way guacamole should definitely be involved (recipe here) and it’s fairly easy to whip up a salsa with some tomatoes and lime juice in a food processor, if you’re looking for a decent set of salsa recipes check out the Thug Kitchen cookbook which is fucking great.

Ingredients

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Red Onions

3 Garlic Cloves, Large

2 Sticks of Celery

1 Red Pepper

1 Green Pepper

1 Large Carrot, Peeled

1 Red Chili

1 Tbsp Tomato Paste

2 Tbsp Cumin

1 Tbsp Ground Coriander

1/2 Tsp Cayenne Pepper

1 Can Chopped Tomatoes

2 Tbsp Tabasco

1 Tsp Liquid Smoke

1/2 Cup Water

1 Can Red Kidney Beans

1 Can Black Beans

1 Large Sweet Potato

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees celsius.

2. Heat 2 Tbsp of the olive oil in a large pan or crock pot over a medium high heat. Whilst the oil is warming up, dice all vegetables to roughly the same size (as in the picture somewhere above).

3. Add the onion, garlic and celery to the pan cooking for 3-5 minutes until the onion is translucent, stirring to ensure it doesn’t burn.

4. Add the peppers, carrot and chili and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes until the peppers have softened slightly.  Add the tomato paste to the pan and let it cook off slightly and coat the vegetables.

5. Add the cumin, coriander and cayenne to the pan and cook until the spices become aromatic.

6. Add the tomatoes, tabasco, liquid smoke, water and beans and bring to a boil before reducing to a simmer and partially cover.

7. Whilst the chili is doing it’s thing, peel the sweet potato and cut it into roughly 1.5cm cubes, place in a baking dish and coat in the remaining olive oil and season.

8. Place sweet potatoes in the oven and let cook with 30-35 minutes until crispy

9. Remove chili from the heat and plate, topping chili with crispy sweet potato bites. (or if you’re taking my taco suggestion seriously, which you should, just whack them in the taco)