Three Bean And Lentil Chilli

Last time I watched an England game I had Jim, Andrew and Steve over for a curry. Jim commented that it was all a bit Jamie Oliver and he had a point but, seeing as we had won 3-0 against Russia, I decided to do the same again, only this time I made a chilli as it's a bit easier. This time it was just a case of putting everything in a pot and stirring. I've probably made more chillies than anything else in my life and although it might not be particularly sophisticated, no other food quite sums up autumn for me than a pot of bubbling chilli.


Three Bean And Lentil Chilli (Serves 4-6)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion, finely chopped
1 green and 1 red pepper, thickly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 small green chillies, sliced with the seeds left in
2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tins chopped tomatoes
1/2 pint vegetable stock
1 tin black beans
1 tin haricot beans
1 tin kidney beans
100g red lentils
Salt and pepper

1) Heat the oil in a large pan (I used my 3 litre capacity Le Creuset casserole dish) and fry the onion for 15 minutes until reallly soft. Then add the peppers and chillies and continue cooking for five more minutes. Next add the garlic and fry for a few more minutes.
2) Add the chilli powder and ground cumin to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes, taking care not to let the spices burn. Next add the tomatoes, stock, beans and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and turn down to gently simmer for 30 minutes.
3) Meanwhile put the red lentils in a pan of boiling water and cook until they're very soft. This should take about ten minutes. Stir the cooked the lentils to the chilli.
4) Serve with plain boiled rice or a baked potato.

I've made a lot of chillies in my time. Sometimes with meat, sometimes veggie. I don't actually think it makes much difference because the flavour is in the sauce rather than the mince. I have messed about with it too - I've added chocolate, baked beans, a can of guinesss and used fresh tomatoes rather than tinned. Yet this is probably my definitive chilli - it is the best I've made. Not too hot yet with a slight kick and I like all the different beans. The lentils are actually there to thicken the chilli rather than flavour it. Unfortunately the chilli was the highlight of the evening as England failed to qualify for Euro 2008 with a 3-2 defeat against Croatia. It looks like I won't be having another one of these evenings for a while.