Chili Sin Carne

One of the first dishes I cooked on my own was chili con carne. Now living as a student, I try to eat as little meat as possible, for health, environment and monetary reasons. This recipe is a great alternative to the classic one with meat.

Ingredients (2 people):

• 1 Onion

• 4 cloves of Garlic

• 30g (2 tbsp)Tomato Paste

• 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika Powder

• 1/2 tsp dried Oregano

• 1/2 tsp Cumin

• 1 tsp Chilli Powder

• Pinch of Salt

• Olive Oil

• 400g chopped Tomatoes

• 300g Kidney Beans (rinsed and drained)

• 200g Sweet Corn (drained)

• 300ml Water

• 1 Lime

• 200g Crême Fraîche

• Tortilla Chips

• Avocado (optional)

• Cilantro (optional)

• Fresh Chilli (optional)

Method:

1. Finely chop the onion and garlic. In a small bowl, combine the tomato paste with the spices (paprika, oregano, cumin, chilli and a pinch of salt).

2. Heat some olive oil in a large pan and start sautéing the onion and garlic for about 3 minutes. Then add the spiced tomato paste and stir for another 3 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and leave to simmer for 8-10 minutes.

3. Add the rinsed beans, sweet corn and water to the pan, boil everything up and then reduce the heat to let everything simmer for another 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

4. Optionally, take a wooden spoon and squish around 1/3 of the beans to give a more creamy texture to the dish. Squeeze some lime juice into the dish.

5. Chop up some cilantro, an avocado and if you're feeling spicy, a fresh chili for decoration. Pour some chilli sin carne into a bowl, add a tablespoon of crême fraîche and the tortilla chips, avocado, cilantro and chilli on top. Serve while still hot!