Sweet Potato & Bean Chilli

• Vegan
• Gluten free

• Produce

  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 1/4 tsp Cacao
  • 1 tsp Chilli flakes, Dried
  • 4 fat cloves Garlic
  • 1 tbsp Herbs, mixed dried
  • 1 Onion chopped finely, large
  • 1 Sweet potato, large
  • 1 large can Tomatoes

• Baking & Spices

  • 1/4 tsp Cinnamon, ground
  • 1/2 tsp Paprika, smoked
  • 1 Salt and pepper
  • 1 tsp Sugar

Found on avirtualvegan.com

Description

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups of dried beans soaked overnight. I used half a cup each of lima, black beans and black eyed beans but any beans work so use whatever you have in your store cupboard. If using kidney beans please see recipe note. (You can sub 3 14-16oz cans of beans instead of dried beans).
• 1 large can (28fl oz/796ml) of crushed tomatoes (chopped tomatoes would also work but blend them up until smooth before using)
• 1 large onion chopped finely
• 1 large sweet potato peeled and cubed
• 4 fat cloves of garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon mixed dried herbs
• 1-2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (I used 2 as I like it spicy)
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cacao, cocoa powder or 1 square of good quality dark chocolate (trust me here, it works!)
• 1 teaspoon sugar (optional but brings out the flavours. Any sugar will do but I use coconut sugar)
• 500mls water (reduce to 200mls if using tinned or pre-cooked beans).
• Salt and pepper

Directions

• Put all of the ingredients into your slow cooker .
• Stir them well
• Set slow cooker to your desired heat setting depending on how long you want it to cook for, I cooked mine on low for about 7 hours as I was at work all day but if you set it to high it would be ready after about 4 hours.
• If you dont have a slow cooker you can also cook this in a pan or in the oven. Start by sautéing the onions and garlic then add all of the other ingredients. I dont use any oil and just use a dry pan but if you want to use a little oil thats fine too. Simmer for as long as you can to get the best flavour but at least until the beans are tender (3 hours at least, less if you are using pre-cooked or canned beans). The longer it simmers the better it will be! If cooking in the oven set oven to 300°F and cook until the beans are tender and the sauce rich and thick.
• Check your beans are cooked through and soft before serving.