Burnt aubergine chilli bowl
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 1 to 2 hours
- Serve
- Serves 2
This smoky veggie chilli is made by blistering aubergines over a gas flame – in the summer, you can use a barbecue.
Ingredients
- 2 aubergines
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1½–2 tbsp Cajun spice mix (use the full 2 tbsp if your aubergines are particularly large)
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 400g tin finely chopped tomatoes
- 400g tin black beans, drained and rinsed
- 400g tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 400ml/14fl oz vegetable stock, made with 1 stock cube
- 220–330g/7–11½oz basmati rice (55g/2oz per person)
- salt, to taste
To serve
- avocado, diced
- lime wedges
- soured cream
Method
Using a pair of long handled heatproof tongs, hold the aubergines one at a time over the flame of a gas ring until charred all over and the aubergines have started to soften. This will take some time (roughly 30 minutes) so feel free to do it in advance; if you don’t have a gas burner, this can also be done outside on the barbecue. Once the aubergines are cool enough to handle, peel off as much of the charred skin as possible and roughly chop the flesh into bite-sized pieces.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan or casserole dish set over a medium-high heat. Add the onion with a generous pinch of salt and cook until soft and starting to colour. Stir in the spices and cook for a further minute.
Add the cooked aubergine flesh, tinned tomatoes, beans and vegetable stock, using a little of the stock to wash all of the juices out of the tomato tin to minimise waste. Season well with more salt, then raise the heat to bring the chilli to the boil. Then, reduce the heat to medium-low and leave to simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, cook the rice as per the packet instructions and cut the avocado.
Serve the chilli with the rice, avocado, lime wedges and soured cream.
Recipe tips
This chilli reheats and freezes really well making it perfect for batch cooking!
