Really Good Veggie Chili
W lives in Minecraft world, where even when he’s not attached to the screen everything revolves around swords and armor and pickaxes and protecting oneself from creepers. The creepers in my world are the cinnamon buns that I have to bake in the morning for a photo shoot, and then sit lustily on the countertop, warm and needing to be eaten. The succession of recipes to be tested and photographed – the pizza straight from the oven, the baked cheese and waffles and pasta carbonara that I have to make and shoot, still steaming, before it gets dark. The lunch meetings and restaurant openings, the rationalization that I need to eat all this, in the name of research. It’s my job, dammit.
So in the interest of preservation of self and pants, I’ve decided to arm myself with pots of flavourful, veggie-heavy food at all times. Things like soup and chili and baking sheets of roasted veggies. Because it’s harder to go overboard on a bowl of veg than a pile of just-baked biscuits, and even if you do, you’ll feel better for it. Or so I’m told.
(Also? This veggie chili is really good. And it gets better with time in the fridge, so you can dip into it all week.)
Really Good Veggie Chili
AuthorJulie
Preheat the oven to 425F.
Spread the sweet potato out on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle generously with oil and toss around with your hands to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for 25-30 minutes, until tender and turning golden.
Set a medium pot over medium-high heat, add some oil and saute the onion , peppers and garlic for a few minutes, until soft. Chop and add the cilantro stems and about half of the leaves (save the rest to put on top) along with the chili powder and cumin and cook for another few minutes.
Add the beans and tomatoes, scrape the roasted sweet potatoes into the pot, season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer; cook for 30-45 minutes, until thickened. If you like, continue to cook it over low heat, or cool it down and refrigerate overnight to let the flavours develop a bit. Otherwise, it's good to go. Serve hot, topped with crumbled feta (or sour cream) and fresh cilantro.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425F.
Spread the sweet potato out on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle generously with oil and toss around with your hands to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for 25-30 minutes, until tender and turning golden.
Set a medium pot over medium-high heat, add some oil and saute the onion , peppers and garlic for a few minutes, until soft. Chop and add the cilantro stems and about half of the leaves (save the rest to put on top) along with the chili powder and cumin and cook for another few minutes.
Add the beans and tomatoes, scrape the roasted sweet potatoes into the pot, season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer; cook for 30-45 minutes, until thickened. If you like, continue to cook it over low heat, or cool it down and refrigerate overnight to let the flavours develop a bit. Otherwise, it's good to go. Serve hot, topped with crumbled feta (or sour cream) and fresh cilantro.
This looks like something I’ll need to try.
Thanks, Julie
🙂
Ahhhh creepers, and their ability for just sneaking up on you from one of the corners of the screen when you don’t expect it. I like watching people play the game, but I always get a little worried whenever unexpected things happen there….
Cinnamon buns though, ah the sound of that makes my Scandi-heart beat a little faster, I can tell 🙂 And my cooking self cannot help but drool a little over this chilli, it looks so nice garnished with the feta! 😀 Thanks for the recipe, and all the best for the upcoming events 🙂 x
Jamie’s veggie chili has long been a favourite of mine (roasting the sweet potatoes is brilliant!) and recently I came up with a version using roasted butternut squash which works too. LOL re: your “creepers”. I am fortunate enough to have a large staffroom to bake and cook for and willing neighbours who will come over to eat random dishes in the guise of “dinner” 😉
I love your phrase about the cinnamon buns that ‘sit lustily on the countertop, warm and needing to be eaten’. I SO get that! It is such an affliction to have to deal with all that food tempting us so craftily. There is only so much ‘giving away’ that a person can do, and sometimes the forlorn look in those cinnamon buns’ eyes just needs to be taken care of! Yay for your veggie chili to the rescue!
I just came home from a long winter walk in snowy Sweden. In those cold and dark days I love to eat a stew or a chili, a warm lovely winter dish. I found your recipe this morning and we had it for lunch. My friends were impressed. They told me it’s similar to my favorite Veggie Pumpkin Curry. Thanks for the recipe and happy cooking!
That’s so good to hear Stephanie! You made my day!
Looks wonderful!!
Saw this recipe and just had to try it. It was fantastic! Even the kids ate it up and gave it two thumbs up. If you knew my picky eaters you would be very impressed with yourself. Keep the recipes coming, we’re enjoying them!
Sounds tasty. We are always looking for vegetarian options as my one child is practically vegetarian. We normally make our veggie chili with walnuts, but I’m thinking I might need to try this one…