Photographic evidence of Cross-Dressing Ken’s latest cake adventures will be up later this evening, but I just need to get this recipe down before I forget what I did! This is another vegan chilli recipe, but this time it’s gluten free and doesn’t contain onions or tomatoes. Do you know how hard it is to cook savoury food without onions or tomatoes? Perhaps you do this all the time, but I’m a Mediterranean girl, and I’d rather cook gluten-free and vegan for a week than cook without onions and tomatoes for three days. They aren’t actually my favourite foods in the world, but they are in absolutely everything, and are very difficult to replace. Tomatillos were also out (not least because they aren’t very available in Melbourne supermarkets), so altogether, I wasn’t feeling hopeful about this. And then I had to rinse all the beautiful adobo off my chipotle chillis when I suddenly realised that it contained tomato too! I have a profound respect for people who cook like this every day.
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4 pattypan squashes or two small zucchini 2 bulbs garlic (actually, I used 3 of those gigantic single-clove garlic things, quartered) 3 large capsicums, all in different colours if possible 2 tsp cuminolive oil salt pepper 1 tin cannelini beans 1 tin borlotti beans 1 chipotle chilli in adobo (you can rinse off the adobo sauce if avoiding tomatoes is your primary goal), chopped finely
Now what will you do with it?
Chop your pattypan squashes into small chunks (I halve them across the equator and chop each half into eighths or so), and slice your peppers into strips about the length of a finger joint. Peel the garlic and leave whole, unless it’s a huge, single-clove bulb, in which case cut it into quarters or sixths. Put the veggies and garlic into a roasting tin with the cumin, salt, pepper and couple of tablespoons of olive oil, and toss around a bit. Bake at 200°C fan forced for half an hour or so, until everything is soft and golden around the edges.
Mash up the garlic a bit, and put everything into a saucepan with the beans, chilli, and a bit of water to moisten everything. Cook over a low heat for half an hour so that all the flavours meld. If you want more spice, you can add some chilli powder (I did), or another chipotle, if you are feeling daring. Be aware, though, that chipotles are quite strong.
Serve with baked sweet potatoes (or the ordinary kind) in their jackets, or with corn chips or cornbread or whatever your preferred thing to do with chilli is. This really is astonishingly delicious.