Bethany's Vegan Kitchen

This is my classic seitan & five bean chilli recipe, perfect for batch cooking as leftovers freeze very well. You could have this with rice, as a baked potato topping, inside tortillas, tacos or as a nacho topping, along with melted vegan cheese. This will make quite a considerable amount, so you can halve or quarter the recipe if you prefer

Yield; At least eight servings (approx 240kcal per serving) Cook time; 1 hour 30 minutes

You’ll need;

1. One tablespoon of oil
2. Three cloves of garlic, minced
3. One large brown onion, chopped
4. Two large peppers, chopped
5. 300g/10.5oz meat free mince, I used crumbled seitan click →HERE← to see my recipe for seitan
6. Two tablespoons of tomato puree
7. Herb and spice mix; Two heaped tablespoons of the following; ground cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika and dried oregano. One tablespoon of chilli powder (use which strength you prefer). Finally one teaspoon of cayenne pepper
8. Two tablespoons of all-purpose plain flour
9. Two 400g/14oz tins of chopped tomatoes, blended until smooth with a blender/food processor
10. Two squares of dark dairy free chocolate – optional (this counteracts any bitterness in the tomatoes and gives the final dish a richer flavour)
11. 600g/1lb5oz mixed tinned beans, drained and thoroughly rinsed. I used a mixture of black beans, cannellini beans, kidney beans, borlotti beans and haricot beans

Method;

• Add the oil to a large saucepan over a medium heat, pop in the garlic and cook for one minute. Then add the onion and peppers, cover with a lid and leave to cook for 10 minutes
• Next add the tomato puree, the herb and spice mix, mince and flour. Give it a really good mix to really bring everything together. Cook for a couple of minutes before adding the tomatoes, stir well to fully combine
• Add the chocolate and cover with a lid. Reduce the heat to low and allow to cook for an hour, stirring every ten minutes or so. If it becomes too thick, just stir through a splash of water
• After an hour, give everything a good stir and add the bean mixture. Give it another good mix then return the lid and cook for another 20 minutes
• After 20 minutes have elapsed it’s all done. How you serve will be dependant upon what you’re serving it with. At this stage you can use the chilli in tacos, burritos, enchiladas etc