Chili sin Carne: the ultimate vegetarian chilli!

Meatless and mighty, we think this is the best veg/vegan chilli around. As with all true chillis, you won’t find any tomatoes in the ingredient list

  • 1kg cooked Ayocote Negro beans, plus 500ml of their bean broth

  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds or ground cumin

  • 5 cloves

  • 2 whole allspice

  • 4 tablespoons olive oil

  • 30g mild chilli powder (check the ingredients - you’re looking for a US-style blend incorporating the likes of paprika, cumin, garlic powder, oregano and mild chili. Most UK supermarket offerings should be fine. If you whack in 30g of cayenne pepper nobody’s going to handle it!)

  • 1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano (or marjoram)

  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (pimenton)

  • 1 tablespoon porcini mushroom powder (optional)

  • 500ml vegetable broth

  • 4 courgettes, sliced in rounds or diagonally

  • Fresh corn kernels from 3 ears of corn (or 300g frozen corn, or one large tin)

  • Sea salt to taste

  • Brown sugar (as needed)

Grind the cumin (if using seeds), cloves and allspice in a mortar. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat until it ripples. Add the chilli powder and mix well with the oil, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Add the ground spices, oregano, and optional porcini powder and Spanish paprika. Mix thoroughly and continue cooking for about 3 minutes. You should have a dense paste. Very slowly, mix in the vegetable broth, stirring constantly until well blended. Gently add the beans and their broth. Mix and cook on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add about a tablespoon of salt and cook for another 10 minutes. Test seasonings and add more salt if needed. If the broth is overly bitter, add sugar, a teaspoon at a time, until the flavour is correct. A teaspoon or two is more than enough. Continue simmering on medium-low, stirring occasionally, until the chilli has started to thicken and the there is no grainy texture from the chilli powder. Add the courgettes and corn and cook for another 15 minutes. Serve with lime wedges and a bowl of creme fraiche, if you like.