Bean and Pepper Chilli

I make no apologies for two of the main ingredients in this dish coming from tins. Tinned beans and tomatoes are exactly what I want for a quick midweek meal. You could make it with fresh tomatoes and beans you’ve soaked overnight and be proud of yourself that you have, but I’ll be honest and say that I rarely do. It’s a very simple weeknight dish.

This is vegetarian (vegan, even) and takes about 20 minutes to prepare and cook, including the rice.

Ingredients
Serves 2 with leftovers for lunch the next day

1 tin tomatoes
1 tin mixed beans
1 red (bell) pepper
1 yellow (bell) pepper
Chilli – fresh, dried or powder, however much you want
1tbsp oil
Salt and pepper
Spices/herbs of your choosing

Rice – however much you like. I use about two-thirds of a mug’s worth of basmati for two people.

The Cooking

Cut the peppers in half and remove the stalks, seeds and white fibrous bits. Cut them up into reasonable sized pieces. Heat the oil and when it’s hot add the peppers and fry until they’re soft. Add the tins of tomatoes and beans and the chilli. If you want to add some other herbs or spices at this point, go ahead. You could add cumin, coriander, fenugreek, basil, thyme, basically whatever you’ve got lying around. Don’t go mad and add everything though, stick to one or two spices.

While the chilli is simmering, rinse the rice and bring it to the boil in salted water for however long the packet says to. With white basmati rice, I cook 2/3rds of a mug in 1 1/2 mugs of water for around 10 minutes (timing it from when the water comes to the boil), which usually works.

Serve it all together. It’s not fussy and grand, but it is a good healthy tasty supper.

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