Vegan chilli with coriander lime pesto

I’m trying to eat less meat and more vegetarian meals, and I have to say, some weeks it’s quite the struggle.

This vegan chilli concoction was born of needing to finish a few mostly empty containers in the fridge (roast veg, tomato sauce, semi-roasted tomatoes, black beans, chipotle chillies), and it turned into one of the best meals I’ve made in ages!

The coriander pesto was an experiment made when I bought three bunches of coriander from our local F&V for about $1.50 and five limes for $2. It was made to go with chicken, but was all eaten over a few meals of the vegan chilli. Soooo good!

Have you had any meals that have been a chuck-it-all-together great success?

Vegan chilli with coriander lime pesto 
recipe by Mel Kettle

Vegan chilli

• 2 tbs olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 brown onion, finely diced
• 2 carrots, finely diced
• 1 stick of celery, finely diced
• 1 capsicum, finely diced (use any colour, I prefer red)
• 2 x cans of black beans, drained and rinsed OR 2 cups of pre-cooked black beans
• 2 x 810g (or 4 x 410g) cans of diced or crushed tomatoes
• 2 x chipotle chillies in adobo sauce, diced
• 1 tbs ground cumin
• salt to taste

Heat a large frypan and add oil. Gently fry the garlic, onion, carrot, celery and capsicum. Stir for a couple of minutes until partly cooked. Add the remainder of the ingredients (not the salt), mix together, add a lid and lower heat. Let it simmer for about an hour, stirring every 10-15 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary. I find the flavour develops over time, so ideally make it the day before you want to eat it.

Coriander and lime pesto

• 2-3 bunches of coriander, leaves and stems, washed thoroughly, chopped roughly
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1 red chilli – I left the seeds in as mine wasn’t too hot
• juice of 2 limes (start with 1, add more to taste)
• 1-2 tbs oil – a nut oil such as macadamia would probably be best, but I used a light tasting olive oil

Put everything in the food processor or Thermomix and blitz until smooth. Taste, add salt if necessary and extra lime juice.

Keeps in the fridge in an airtight container for 4-5 days.

Enjoy!