Cooking for Beginners recipes, structured

Veggie Chilli

Dried beans, whole spices toasted and ground, and a long uncovered simmer. Cocoa and cinnamon do the work meat usually does.

Prep
25m
Cook
1h 30m
Waiting
8h
Total
9h 55m
Serves
6
Effort
Easy
Scale
6
Units

Method

Tap a step number to mark it done. Tap an ingredient once for got it, twice for need it.

2 tsp Toast the whole spices and chillies, then grind 6m Bloom the ground spices in the hot vegetable base 3m The aromatic compounds are fat-soluble, so they need oil and heat to come out. Simmer uncovered until it thickens and the oil shows at the edges 45m Uncovered. A lid keeps the water in and you never get past soup. Rest off the heat 10 minutes, then finish with lime and coriander 10m
1 tbsp
2
1
3 tbsp Soften the onion, pepper and carrot 12m
2
1
1
4 cloves
2 tsp
1/2 tsp
2 tbsp
300 g Soak the beans overnight, then simmer until tender 1h 10m Salt the water once they are soft, not before, or the skins stay tough.
2
to cover by 5 cm
1 tin
2 tsp
400 ml
2 tsp
1
a large handful
Read left to right: ingredients merge into steps, and the rightmost cell is the last thing you do. Steps account for 2h 26m of hands-on and cooking time.

  1. Toast the whole spices and chillies, then grind

    6m
    • cumin seeds 2 tsp
    • coriander seeds 1 tbsp
    • dried ancho chillies 2
    • dried chipotle chilli 1

  2. Soften the onion, pepper and carrot

    12m
    • olive oil 3 tbsp
    • onions 2
    • red pepper 1
    • carrot 1
    • garlic 4 cloves

  3. Bloom the ground spices in the hot vegetable base

    3m
    • from 1 Toast the whole spices and chillies, then grind
    • from 2 Soften the onion, pepper and carrot
    • smoked paprika 2 tsp
    • ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp
    • tomato purée 2 tbsp

    The aromatic compounds are fat-soluble, so they need oil and heat to come out.

  4. Soak the beans overnight, then simmer until tender

    1h 10m
    • dried black beans 300 g
    • bay leaves 2
    • water to cover by 5 cm

    Salt the water once they are soft, not before, or the skins stay tough.

  5. Simmer uncovered until it thickens and the oil shows at the edges

    45m
    • from 3 Bloom the ground spices in the hot vegetable base
    • from 4 Soak the beans overnight, then simmer until tender
    • tinned tomatoes 1 tin
    • cocoa powder 2 tsp
    • vegetable stock 400 ml
    • salt 2 tsp

    Uncovered. A lid keeps the water in and you never get past soup.

  6. Rest off the heat 10 minutes, then finish with lime and coriander

    10m
    • from 5 Simmer uncovered until it thickens and the oil shows at the edges
    • lime 1
    • coriander a large handful

What replaces the meat

A meat chilli gets its background from browned protein and rendered fat. Take those out and you need other sources of savoury depth. Toasted whole spices supply roasted aromatics that ground jars have already lost; cocoa contributes bitterness and a little tannin; the uncovered simmer concentrates glutamates in the tomato. The dried beans matter too — their cooking liquid is full of dissolved starch and gives the pot a body that drained tins cannot.

Notes

  • Cook the beans in unsalted water, salt them once tender, then let them cool in that liquid.
  • If it tastes flat at the end it usually needs acid, not more chilli. Lime first, then reassess.
  • Better the next day, and it freezes without any loss.

Try butter, 30 minutes, braise, or an ingredient you need to use up.