Being from Brighton, I suppose I ought to write something for the myriad vegetarians among us – not the faux-veggies who insist ‘OMG, like – I’m vegetarian, but eat, like, chicken and fish and stuff…’; which isn’t vegetarian in the slightest, and so doesn’t count. I’m talking about proper vegetarians, so this is for them.
But don’t turn off this episode of blokes in the kitchen just yet, it’s just that I’m going to tell you about the meaty version of this first. This is something whereby removing or adding just one particular ingredient makes for a carne / veggie option. Bear with me.
Tee-totallers had better look away, though.
Here is my take on a pretty simple Chilli Bean Stew for a party.
You will need a decent-sized onion, a red pepper, chorizo, garlic, paprika (the spice of the Gods), chillies, red wine, some tins of beans (about four or five; and varied – this is party food), a couple of tins of tomatoes and some herbs – preferably rosemary, thyme and oregano. And salt and pepper, naturally.
Chop the onion, chorizo and red pepper and, in a decent sized frying pan, using olive oil (not extra virgin) fry over a medium-high heat. Add some white pepper, but DO NOT add the salt yet. After five minutes, toss in the chopped garlic, chopped chillies – with or without the seeds, up to you – and paprika. Chilli powder will be grand in the absence of fresh or dried chillies by the way.
A minute after that, add a small-ish glass (about 150ml or so) of red wine, and let the flavours infuse, and the wine reduce. If you leave the garlic cooking for more than a minute without the liquid, you risk the garlic becoming bitter, and it could over-power the rest of the cooking.
After a few more minutes, open up the cans of beans – your supermarket ought to store red kidney beans, chick peas, borlotti beans, black-eyed bans, haricot beans and so on – drain them of their liquid, and tip them into the pan, giving them a good stir.
Alternatively, you can soak the dried kidney beans / chick peas / other beans overnight the night before, drain them and cook these (they will be better), but the canned stuff, for the purposes of your party, will be good enough.
Be sure to mix in all the onions, chorizo and spices through the beans.
The mix is still dry, so pour in a can of tomatoes. The own-label budget stuff from the supermarket will do. In fact, for the quantities we’re talking about, you may want two cans. From here you’ve got plenty of liquid, flavour and aroma.
Put a lid on the pan, reduce the heat to a simmer, and add in some chopped rosemary, thyme and oregano. If you only have one of these herbs for this dish, make sure it’s oregano. Fresh or dried will do the job, but I grow several different herbs, and fresh wins out every time.
If you’re up for it, a dash of Worcestershire Sauce wouldn’t go amiss either.
Cook for another 30 minutes – at which time add a pinch of salt – until some of the liquid has reduced, the flavours sting your nose, and you’re fed up of waiting.
Serve on a bed of long grain rice, with some pitta bread and either a cold beer, or a glass of Shiraz.
Vegetarian / vegan option (1): Leave out the chorizo.
Vegetarian / vegan option (2): Add in chopped potatoes at the same time as the beans for extra bulk.
Lots of these required – canned or fresh.
Cheers, Al