21/05/2019

Black Bean Chilli with Peppers & Corn

Name: Black Bean Chilli with Peppers & Corn
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil; 2 medium onions (skinned & roughly chopped); 6 cloves garlic (finely chopped); 1 fresh chilli (otptional) (finely chopped); 2 tsp ground cumin; 2 tsp smoked paprika; 2 tsp New Mexico chilli powder (optional); 2 tsp dried oregano; 1 tsp dried sage; 1 tsp dried chilli flakes; 1 medium bunch coriander (chop stems finely, the leaves roughly); 4 sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped (optional); 1 tbsp tomato puree; 400 g chopped , tinned tomatoes; 400 ml vegetable stock or water; salt & pepper (to taste); 1-2 tsp sugar (optional); 1 large red pepper (de-seeded, roughly chopped); 1 large green pepper (de-seeded, roughly chopped); 160 g sweetcorn (tinned or frozen) (approx drained weight of a small tin); 240 g cooked black beans (approx drained weight of a 400g tin); 0.5 lime (juice only); 1 medium red onion (roughly chopped); 200 g cherry tomatoes (quartered); 0.5 tbsp chopped coriander leaf; 1 chilli (optional) (finely chopped); 0.5 lime (juice only); salt & pepper; 1 medium avocado (peeled & diced); 2 spring onions (finely chopped)

Black Bean Chilli with Peppers & Corn is a tasty, easy dish. Combining convenient tinned black beans, tomatoes and sweetcorn with fresh peppers, coriander and a host of store cupboard spices, it’s perfect for a healthy, midweek meal.

And forget boring old rice with your chilli. This one’s topped with fresh cherry tomatoes and red onion zinging with lime, plus avocado, soured cream or yogurt, and grated cheese.

BEANS, CHILLI & ME

I didn’t used to much like beans in chilli. But I think that was because they always seemed to be red kidney beans which aren’t the tastiest pulse. In fact, I was sometimes guilty of eating around the beans in my beef chilli, leaving a little heap of them on the plate.

So it’s something of a change for me to now be regularly making this entirely plant-based Black Bean Chilli with Peppers & Corn. Especially as it’s those beans that played a large part in getting me hooked.

Sometimes called turtle beans, black beans are much smaller than kidney beans and I think that’s why I prefer them. They seem less intrusive in the chilli and amalgamate well with the other ingredients.

More good news is that while slightly lower in carbohydrates, they provide a little more protein and fibre than red kidney beans.

You could soak and cook dry black beans to make this dish. But for me, part of the charm of Black Bean Chilli is that it can be made surprisingly quickly with tinned black beans, tinned tomatoes and tinned sweetcorn.

EAT YOUR VEGGIES

I wouldn’t touch fake meat with a rusty old barge pole, so my vegetarian or vegan chillies have always been based on real foods: pulses and vegetables. Yes, I know that tomatoes, peppers and chillies are technically fruit.

But one thing vegetable braises and stews can lack is texture. That’s why I like to include sweetcorn, to give the dish some satisfying chew.

If corn on the cob is in season then use it. I do think it has better flavour than tinned or frozen, but the Black Bean Chilli will still be good if that’s all you have.

One of the distinct advantages of fresh corn though, is that you can get a nice charring on it, using a griddle pan, before you add it to the chilli. I’ve had less success doing that with the tinned version as it’s wetter, but it does add a little more flavour.

I like lots of peppers in my chilli so use two big ones. Any colours will do, but a mixture is nicest.

THE HEAT

I tend to make my black bean chilli moderately hot. While I do like some heat, I don’t want it to overwhelm the flavour of the vegetables or the herbs and spices (oregano, sage, cumin, coriander and smoked paprika, by the way).

On the other hand, if you’re going to top the chilli with my recommended goodies (avocado, cheese, tomato and onion, plus soured cream or yogurt) you can get away with it having a fair kick as these will mellow the bowl.

I’ve used fresh chilli and dried chipotle chilli flakes, but you could use just one or the other. I like the smokiness of the chipotle, but of course ordinary chilli flakes or powder are absolutely fine.

I’ve also added some New Mexico Red chilli powder which I discovered when I took part in the wonderful Columbo Bowl Chili Cook-Along. New Mexico Red has a very mild heat, but I love it’s slightly sweet, fruity flavour with a hint of smoke. You can find it online or just use a little more smoked paprika.

BLACK BEAN CHILLI WITH PEPPERS & CORN

My Black Bean Chilli is made like any other stew. I sweat the aromatics in oil first (onion, garlic, chilli) before adding tomatoes, tomato puree, stock or water and the seasonings to make a sauce. If I happen to have a jar of sun-dried tomatoes open, I’ll put in a few of these, roughly chopped. I think they do help to intensify the flavour.

When the sauce has started to reduce a fair bit, I add the peppers and corn and simmer gently, making sure they don’t overcook – I still want them to have some bite. The beans go in quite near the end as they just need to warm through.

When the Black Bean Chilli is thick and tasty, I stir in some chopped coriander leaf and add a squeeze of lime to make it a bit perkier.

THE FIXINGS

One of my favourite things about chilli is the opportunity to spoon a load of tasty little extras on top of your bowl.

At our house, this is known as ‘all the fixings’ (pronounced ‘fixins’). I’ll say, ‘I’m making chilli tonight’ and other half will always ask, ‘with all the fixings?’. ‘Yep, all the fixings!’ is my unchanging reply.

I think we picked up ‘all the fixings’ from an early episode of Frasier where Martin takes his snobbish sons, Frasier and Niles, to The Timber Mill, a homely steakhouse where you can get ‘five different toppings for your baked potato.’ The brothers are horrified that you pick a steak from the creaking ‘beef trolley’. Martin, exasperated by his sons’ finickiness, steps in and says, ‘just bring us those three, medium rare, all the fixings.’ Eventually, their father walks out as the brothers continue to mock the restaurant and its staff. Ashamed, Niles says, ‘do you think we’ve actually lost the ability to enjoy the simple things? Steak, potato… fixins?’

Well, I haven’t lost my ability to love fixings. Whether it’s pickles, mayo and onions on a burger or tahini and chilli sauce with falafel, these extras are what often turns a meal into a treat of different tastes and textures.

With chilli, we’ll almost always have the same four things:

MY CHILLI FIXINS

Grated cheese such as a mature Cheddar
Diced avocado, a little lime juice squeezed over to stop it browning.
A sort-of salsa: chopped tomatoes and red onion with another squeeze of lime, chopped coriander, salt and pepper. I sometimes add fresh red chilli as well. Sliced or chopped radish is good for adding extra crunch too.
Something creamy with chopped spring onion stirred through. Soured cream is my favourite with Black Bean Chilli, but we always have full fat plain yogurt in the fridge so it’s often that. If we’ve a little double cream left over from another meal then combining it with yogurt is a pretty good substitute for soured cream.

SERVING

I know most people in Britain wouldn’t dream of eating chilli without rice. But we virtually never do. With all the tasty pulses and vegetables in this Black Bean Chilli, plus all the varied toppings, we honestly don’t miss it.

If you do want to serve it with rice, then the amount of chilli this recipe makes will probably stretch to four people. However we eat the whole lot between two of us.

I reckon in one generous, delicious bowlful, that provides us with all of our daily minimum of five portions of fruit and vegetables.

5 from 1 vote