The overwhelming evidence is that a plant-based diet is much better for us and vital for the planet. So, with this comes a fabulous opportunity to keep relooking at traditional meat recipes and give them a vegetarian makeover.
Sweet potato chilli (chili com batata doce) is a great makeover candidate. Of course, it is not a new recipe, but it is a genuinely delicious alternative to its beefy cousin. True chilli aficionados may disagree; however, you will create a great-tasting chilli if you treat the vegetarian recipe with the same respect as the beef version.
Don’t skip the chill paste process. Toasting and soaking the various chillies and grinding them into a paste adds to the flavour profile. Seal and saute the vegetables. Sweet potatoes react well to being fried and become brown and sticky, adding flavour. You need the carrots and celery to balance, and I wouldn’t add any more sweet potatoes to the recipe ratio.
Ingredients
You need a firm veg that takes time to cook and can absorb the flavours. Butternut squash is a good alternative – or indeed any pumpkin or squash. The key, however, is to keep all the vegetables chunks a similar size so they cook equally and nothing gets soggy. You may want to make the veg pieces smaller if you are filling a burrito or taco. Unlike a beef chilli, where the beans are traditionally a side, the sweet potato chilli is tastier with beans added.
Mid-Week Supper or Packed Lunch
The same applies to a vegetarian chilli as to its meaty cousin. I suggest making it in advance – chill and then reheat slowly. It’s a perfect midweek meal, making it great as a packed lunch. Reheat in a microwave at the office, then fill a wrap – add plenty of guacamole, onions, and yoghurt. It also freezes well – so make a double batch. Thoroughly defrost and then reheat slowly – adding a little liquid and maybe a dash of vinegar.
For more Sweet potato and Vegetarian dishes, click here.
Sweet Potato Chilli
Equipment
- 1 heavy-based casserole with a lid
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into equal-sized cubes – approx 2cm
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced into rounds
- 1 large stick celery sliced (including the leaves into similar size as the carrots)
- 2 large onions roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 2 cm stick cinnamon
- ¼ tsp powdered allspice
- ¼ tsp powdered cloves
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 small dried red chillies
- 1 large ancho or banana chilli pepper I struggle to find ancho, so I have to substitute ancho for the local banana chilli. If using, you will need to soak the ancho in warm water. For the banana chilli, you can use fresh.
- 3 sweet red pepper, such as the Florina (90g) 2 whole and one sliced
- 2 chipotle in adobo sauce incl. 2 tsp of the sauce
- 2 tbsp concentrated tomato paste
- 1-2 tbsp red wine vinegar or red wine
- 150-200 ml stock of choice you may not need all of this
- 400 g red kidney or pinto beans (or mix)
- olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Serving Suggestions
- 1 lime
- 1 handful fresh coriander
- 1 med very finely sliced red onion
- 200 ml yoghurt or sour cream
- rice, tortillas, nachos, burrito or taco .
- guacamole
Instructions
- Roast two sweet red peppers in the oven or in a film of oil in your cooking pot.
- Toast the dried chillies (to extract their flavour), taking care not to burn them. Remove and put them in a small bowl with a dash of hot water together with the ancho (if using) and leave to soften.
- Fry the onions in plenty of black pepper together with the sweet potatoes, carrot, the sliced red pepper and the celery. Add all the dry spices, including the bay leaf and cinnamon stick and cook until the onion is soft and translucent and the sweet potato is browned but not burnt!
- While the onions are cooking, in a small food mill, add the acho (banana chilli), softened dried chillies, softened sweet red pepper (roughly chopped), two tablespoons of tomato paste, chipotle in adobo sauce, garlic and a spoonful of the onion mixture. Whizz into a thick paste. Add some stock if it is too thick to whizz.
- Add your paste to the vegetables. Add ½ a cup of stock to the food mill, sloosh around so you collect all the chilli sauce – and pour it into the chilli.Add the red wine vinegar and beans, bring to a boil, cover with the lid slightly ajar and cook on low heat until the vegetables are tender and the sauce slightly thickened.
- To keep the chilli moist. Add a ¼ cup of stock at a time. You want to simmer it gently, not boil in too much liquid. It takes about 40 minutes to an hour.
- To serve – add liquid if necessary and test for seasoning – maybe a little salt or a dash more vinegar. This is a medium hot chilli, so increase or decrease the chillness to your liking. Even more delicious if made in advance and gently reheated.
- Serve with your choice of sides – see notes below.
Reader Interactions