Chilli has got to be one of the most simplest, tastiest and hearty dishes you can enjoy through out the year. I like to use this homemade vegetarian chilli recipe at the weekend as it can be quite an indulgent tea, especially if you serve it with a generous helping of nachos, cheese and a few drinks 😉 Perfect for a Saturday Night.

I have used Quorn mince even though I’m not a vegetarian, but it’s goes hand in hand with a healthy diet & lifestyle. Not only is Quorn lower in fat than regular mincemeat, it is also high in protein & fibre!! I honestly don’t think it tastes much different to using mincemeat as it soaks up all the flavour of the  ingredients and I actually prefer the texture of Quorn compared to mincemeat!The great thing about Quorn is you can cook it straight from frozen, so no worries if you forgot to defrost your meat in the morning. The only thing I have found with Quorn is it does soak up a  fair bit of liquid I keep adding dashes of water to my dish. I definitely recommend giving Quorn a go!! 🙂

Recipe

Servings: 4 Prep Time: 10mins Cook Time: 45mins – 1 hour Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 300g Quorn (or Beef Mince Meat)
• 1 Onion (diced)
• 3 Garlic Cloves (diced)
• 1 Red Chilli (diced)
• 2 Medium Carrots (grated)
• 2 Medium Celery Sticks (diced)
• 1 Pepper (diced)
• 1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes
• 1 Tin of Baked Beans (Or Kidney Beans)
• 200ml Beef Stock (or Vegetable)
• 1 Tablespoon Tomato Puree
• 1 Tablespoon Worcester Sauce
• 1 Teaspoon Basil
• 1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1 Teaspoon Coriander
• 2 Bay Leaves
• Pinch of Salt & Pepper
• Dash of Olive Oil

1. Drizzle your olive oil into a meduim heated pan and brown off your mince. Whilst the mince is cooking, cut up the onion, garlic, celery, pepper and chilli pepper ( I leave the seeds in but you can de-seed it if your not to keen on spice :)). Grate your carrot.

2. Add all your veg in to the pan and cook for 5 mins, keep stirring!

3. Add your chopped tomatoes, beans, stock and stir.

4. Finally add your herbs, puree, worcester sauce and season. Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat to let it simmer.

5. Leave it to simmer away for at least 45mins – 1 hour! Keep stirring and checking it. If it looks like the sauce is drying up a little just pop in some warm kettle water in. Once its ready,  serve with nachos and cheese! (Or if you fancy…rice, chips, wedges! – The choice is yours!)