I realised, with only a month to go of winter, that I hadn’t made a big pot of chilli yet.  I had all the ingredients for a vegetarian chilli and decided to go with sweet potato and black beans.

This is a spicy, hearty chilli with a subtle sweetness, which goes really well with brown rice and avocado.

Recipe:

30mls olive or grapeseed oil
1 chilli chopped or 1 tspn chilli flakes (to taste)
2 tspns ground cumin or cumin seeds
1/2 tspn paprika
1/2 tspn ground coriander
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium sized brown onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced
400g sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 x 400g cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 x 400g can diced tomatoes
1/2 to 1 cup low sodium vegetable stock
80g corn kernels
Freshly ground sea salt & black pepper
A couple of squeezes fresh lime juice
Handful chopped coriander or continental parsley

On low/medium heat in Dutch oven or heavy based saucepan, sauté spices, onion, garlic and carrots in olive oil until onion is transparent – season with sea salt and black pepper (being careful not to burn the garlic).  Increase heat to medium and add sweet potatoes, tossing through mixture; allow to cook briefly.

Add black beans and tomatoes and 1/2 cup of the stock, bring to the boil then gently simmer with lid on for 40-50 minutes until mixture has reduced and thickened and potatoes are tender.  I tend to take the lid off for the last 15 minutes so the mixture reduces a bit.  Add more stock if needed.  Ten minutes before end of cooking time, add corn and season further if required.

Take pan off hotplate and stir through lime juice and parsley or coriander.  Serve with brown rice and sliced avocado.

Serves 6