Friday, March 29Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Vegetable Chilli

This chilli is so easy to make that it’s really impossible to get it wrong – it just takes a bit of time to make. It feeds a whole bunch of people so it’s great if you’re having friends round, plus it freezes brilliantly. It’s also packed with the things your parents always ask if you’re eating enough of, and what’s more, you can adapt it to whatever you fancy or just happen to have in the fridge – use different kinds of beans or vegetables, or play around with the spices to vary it.

Ingredients

– 1 onion

– 2 peppers (yellow and red)

– 2 sticks celery

– 1 large carrot

– 2 cloves garlic

– 2 chillies (red and green)

– 300g Quorn mince

– 1tsp chilli powder

– 1½tsp ground cumin

– 1tsp ground coriander

– 2tsp cinnamon

– 1tsp paprika

– 1 glass red wine

– 2x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

– 2x 400g tin kidney beans (or any you like)

– 200ml vegetable stock

– 1 bay leaf

– 30g fresh coriander

1. Heat some olive oil in a large pan or wok. Roughly chop the onion, peppers, celery, carrot, garlic and chillies and add to the pan, then cook for about 10 minutes, until softened and beginning to colour.

2. Add the Quorn mince (straight from frozen) and cook for a few minutes until it’s browned, then add the spices and cook for a further 5 minutes. This is the only point where you really have to watch it, or the spices will stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.

3. Stir in the tomatoes, red wine, bay leaf, vegetable stock and beans (drained), then give it a good stir to mix it all together. Bring it to a boil, then let it simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so to make sure it isn’t sticking.

4. Turn off the heat, then roughly chop the coriander and add it to the pan, along with salt and pepper to taste. You can serve it with basically anything – my personal favourite is in tortilla wraps with sour cream and a strong cheddar, but you could serve it with rice and add chopped spring onions, or even just eat it by itself. The choice is yours!

Article and Photography: Bryony Bowie