Ella Mills' Five Bean Chilli

Tue, 4 September 2018

Bestselling author Ella Mills joined us to tell us her story and tell us more about her brand new vegan cookbook and then showed us how to whip up a delicious vegan chilli. 

For the corn bread:

750g drained tinned sweetcorn (34 tins depending on size)
450ml almond milk
150ml sunflower, rapeseed or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
25g coriander,
chopped 1 × 400g tin of black beans, drained and rinsed
2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon sea salt flakes
pinch of pepper

For the dry ingredients:

60g plain flour (we use a glutenfree one)
30g rice flour
400g polenta
1 tablespoon corn flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

For the five bean chilli:
olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 tablespoons tomato purée
2 × 400g tins of mixed beans
1 × 400g tin of tomatoes
1 tablespoon maple syrup

To serve:

Handful of coriander, roughly chopped.
Handful of parsley, roughly chopped.
Salt and pepper.

Method:

Start by making the corn bread.
Preheat the oven to 200ºC (fan 180ºC). Line a deep 35 × 25cm baking tin with baking parchment.

Place three quarters of the sweetcorn in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Once smooth, mix together with the rest of the whole sweetcorn kernels.

Place all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir well.

Once mixed, add the almond milk, oil and apple cider vinegar and give everything another really good stir until well combined.

Next, add the coriander, black beans, chilli, salt, pepper and sweetcorn, giving it all one final mix.

Once the mixture has come together, pour into a lined baking tin and bake in the oven for 50-55 minutes until golden and cooked through.

To test if it is cooked, insert a knife into the corn bread, it should come out clean, if not place back in the oven for 5 more minutes to cook through.

While the corn bread is baking, prepare the chilli. Place a large saucepan over a medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil, the onion, celery, garlic and a pinch of salt and cook until soft, about 5-10 minutes.

Now add the chilli, rosemary, thyme and tomato puree and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the beans, tomatoes, 150ml water, maple syrup, and some pepper and bring to the boil, then lower the heat and leave to simmer for 25-30 minutes, at which point it should have a thick consistency. 

Add the beans, tomatoes, 150ml water, maple syrup, and some pepper and bring to the boil, then lower the heat and leave to simmer.

When you are ready to serve sprinkle the parsley and coriander over the top and enjoy with the corn bread.