Vegetable and Beany Gonzales Chilli

Make this recipe when you have a spare hour or so to leave it bubbling away, and serve it as a big family sit-down-together dish (it would stretch to a few stray kids too). It could be frozen as individual portions to get out as and when you need them or as something to give your kids for tea (as can many recipes in this chapter) and something for the grownups later in the evening. It’s the recipe that keeps on giving. Keep it simple and serve with rice and add some extras, such as grated cheese, sour cream, shop-bought or Home-made Guacamole (see page 18) and wedges of lime.

MAKES 6 adult and 6 kid-sized portions

PREPARATION TIME 15 minutes

COOKING TIME 1 hour

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 peppers, red, green, yellow or orange, deseeded and diced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 courgettes/zucchini, diced

800g/1lb 12oz/3½ cups canned chopped tomatoes

480g/1lb 1oz canned red kidney beans, drained

2 tsp ground cumin

1½ tsp mild chilli powder (or hot if you want added heat)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp chopped coriander/cilantro leaves (optional)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

cooked long-grain rice, to serve

 

1 Heat the oil in a large pan over a low heat, add the onion and peppers and cook for 5 minutes until beginning to soften. Add the garlic and courgettes/zucchini and cook for a further 3–4 minutes.

2 Stir in all the remaining ingredients along with 125ml/4fl oz/½ cup water and season lightly with salt and pepper. Increase the heat and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover loosely with a lid and leave to simmer for 45 minutes, stirring a couple of times.

3 Scatter with the coriander/cilantro leaves, if using, and serve with rice.

Leftovers for Tex-Mex tacos

chilli tacos and chilli baked wedges

If you want to serve this chilli in a different way – perhaps for a lighter meal – then pop 1 handful of shredded crispy lettuce, such as iceberg, into a taco shell. Add a large spoonful of the chilli and top with grated cheese. Serve with sour cream and/or guacamole, lime wedges and tabasco sauce for added heat, if you fancy it.

Or you could cook wedges of potato or sweet potato following the recipe on page 148, or use shop-bought ones, if preferred. When cooked, transfer to individual ovenproof dishes, or one large one if you are going to share, and spoon over some of the leftover chilli. Scatter with plenty of grated Cheddar cheese and pop in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F/gas 6 for about 15 minutes until the chilli is heated through and bubbling hot.