The Teen has declared that she not only prefers this to a meaty chilli, but she also thinks it may well be in her top 10 favourite meals. So far we’ve eaten it with rice, baked potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, in a wrap like a burrito, and with tortilla chips to create nachos with all the trimmings, so I think we can agree that it’s a hit. Don’t skip the pickled red onion slices, they’re amazing and super easy to make. Serves 6.

Ingredients
Chilli:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
Small bunch of coriander, leaves + stalks separated and chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
0.5 tsp chilli flakes
2 x 400g cans kidney beans
1 x 400g can cannelini beans
1 x 400g can black beans
1 x 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
75g dark chocolate, chopped
(Note: use dairy free chocolate and then it becomes a vegan chilli)
Pickled red onions:
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp sugar
0.5 tsp salt flakes
Method
- Heat the oil in a large deep frying pan or saucepan and fry the onions, garlic, a big pinch of salt and the chopped coriander stalks for 5 minutes until starting to soften. Scoop out a couple of large spoonfuls and put them into a blender (but don’t blend it yet).
- Add in the spices and fry for another couple of minutes.
- Drain 3 of the 4 cans of beans and add in to the pan, along with the fourth can including its bean liquid, and the tinned tomatoes.
- Stir the whole lot together and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Make the pickled onions by mixing together all of the ingredients. Seriously that’s it.
- Chop the coriander leaves and add half to the beans, then remove a third of the mix and add it to the blender and blitz until smooth. Stir back into the beans.
- Mix in the chopped chocolate until completely melted and combined.
- Check the seasoning, drain the onions, and serve with the remaining coriander and a lime wedge or two.