Written by Sophie
I am a meat lover, but recently I wanted to cut down on my meat intake to see if it made a difference to how I felt overall (can’t comment on that at this stage as too early), but anyway….I was craving chilli con carne so this is a veggie/vegan twist! I can honestly say that the flavour was just as good as the meat version, the textures of the beans, quinoa and lentils make so satisfying – it really is delicious, especially with the cheesy cashew cream!
I’ve always been a bit sceptical about ‘cashew cream’ but I made it recently and not only was it SO easy, but with the addition of some lemon juice and nutritional yeast (which is very easy to get hold of) it was delish! You can also leave cashew cream in the fridge in a jar and it lasts for ages, so although the soaking over night takes a while, it is worth it.
The lettuce wraps add a bit of texture (with no carbs) but you could also have it with rice/cauliflower rice or normal wraps if you’re not gluten-free.
Ingredients
- Chilli (this is enough for about 5-6 portions)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 x onions
- 4 x cloves of garlic
- 2 x peppers
- 1 x leek
- 1 x chilli
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp smokey paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 x cans chopped tomatoes
- 250g dried red lentils
- 100g uncooked quinoa
- 2 x cans kidney beans
- 1 x can cannelloni beans
- 1L vegetable stock (I used Marigold vegetable bullion)
- 2 tbsp tamari sauce
- Lettuce or two for the wraps
- Cashew Cream (serves 5-6)*
- 1 Cup cashews (soaked overnight, or at least an hour before)
- Juice 1 Lemon
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast (more if you feel like it needs it)
- 1 cups water
*If you eat dairy and don’t have time to make the cashew cream then it also works really nicely with some natural yoghurt.
Directions
Heat the coconut oil in a large wok or stock pot. Once it’s hot, add the onion, garlic, chilli ,peppers and leek, then cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper and stir in well for a couple of minutes.
Add the lentils and quinoa and make sure they’re well-coated with the spices.
Then add the chopped tomatoes, mix well.
Add the stock…we used Marigold Bullion:
Then the drained and rinsed kidney and cannelloni beans..
And add to the mixture..
Leave to simmer and make the cashew cream…
To make the cashew cream, you literally blend the soaked cashews, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and water! Add the water slowly to ensure you get the consistency you want as you may want it thicker or runnier. And if you want a stronger flavour, add more nutritional yeast.
The chilli should take around 45 minutes before it has reduced and is ready to serve:
Then prepare the lettuce wraps, fill with chilli and top with cashew cream…
And get eating!!
This is also really nice when it’s cold and can be taken to work as a nice lunch dish too!
Squirrel Sisters 
This looks really gorgeous and I’ve just finished me porridge !
Sent from my iPad
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Haha, that is a very good sign 🙂 xxx
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