I’ve always been a fan of vegan chilis (I’m a real bean fiend) but I do sometimes miss the texture of meat. Enter Jackfruit. I’m so annoyed I’m so late to the Jackfruit game, but this chili cements my belated arrival. It does look like a lot of ingredients and a lot to do but, most likely, you will already have a lot of these ingredients in your cupboard and there is minimal chopping involved; it’s pretty much a chuck-everything-in-a-pan-and-stir-occasionally kind of meal. Enjoy with brown rice and guacamole, with roasted veg or solo!
Serves: 6-8
Cooking Time: approximately 45 minutes
Ingredients
½ large onion (or 1 small onion), roughly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 bell peppers (I used red and green), cut up into long slices
2 tins of 400g Jackfruit (do not use the ones in syrup)
2 teaspoons cumin
3 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoons dried thyme
½ teaspoon chilli
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons chipotle paste
2 tins chopped tomatoes
3 tins beans (I used black beans, butter beans and kidney beans. Cannellini and black-eyed beans would work really well, too.)
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 bag of spinach
3 big handfuls of kale
Juice of ½ lime
1 tablespoon of tamari
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh coriander, as much as you like! (Optional)
Method
1. Drain the cans of jackfruit and shred. I find it easiest to pull apart with my fingers.
2. Heat some olive oil and a sprinkle of salt in a large pan. Add onion and cook for a few minutes until soft.
3. Add the garlic and jackfruit and stir until some of the water comes out of the jackfruit.
4. Mix in the pepper, spices and pastes and stir well.
5. Add the beans, tomatoes and nutritional yeast. Cook for 20-30 minutes on a medium/low heat, stirring often. The chili should become nice and thick.
6. At this point stir in the spinach and kale, the lime juice, Worcester sauce and salt and pepper. Chop up the fresh coriander and stir through.
7. Serve with brown rice and guacamole!