Vegetarian Chilli con Carne

I love Chilli because it is such an adaptable dish. This is my own creation made with vegetarian Quorn but you can of course use proper minced beef if you're a carnivore, or perhaps something like tofu if you are vegan. You can add anything you like, for example chickpeas, lentils, pumpkin, peppers, celery, mushrooms....(perhaps I'm moving away from a traditional Chilli con carne a little)

• 1 calorie cooking spray
• 2 shallots, or 1/2 onion
• 1/2 leek
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• cayenne pepper or chilli powder to taste (I use about 1/2 tsp again)
• 200g sweet potato (about 1 medium sized one)
• 200g Quorn mince or steak strips
• 1 tin tomato
• 1/2 tin sweetcorn or 100g peas
• 80g kidney beans
• bunch of fresh coriander

1. Finely chop the shallots, leek and garlic. Spray a large pan with the cooking spray then sweat down these vegetables until soft.
2. Add all the spices and a splash of water to prevent them sticking to the bottom of the pan - it should be lovely and fragrant.
3. Meanwhile, peel and dice the sweet potato. Add this to the pan and fry for 5-10 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, quorn and kidney beans (I normally add the peas at this stage too but this makes them lose their colour, so it would probably be wiser to add them at the last minute).
5. Add about a cup of water and bring to the boil.
6. Pick the leaves off the coriander and put in the fridge. Finely chop the stalks and add to the pan.
7. Simmer for 1 hour plus (Note: Chilli is normally better when left for a day as the flavour mellows).
8. Add the coriander leaves just before serving.

 I added a quartered boiled egg on top and served with brown rice. Apparently boiled egg goes nicely with chilli con carne and curry too - who knew! (I boiled the egg for 10 minutes and it was perfect).
Plus this is SUPER healthy, 800 calories for the whole pot and I dished out 1/4 of it each. Add 50g brown rice and you have a 350 calorie dinner. (72 more with the boiled egg). And if you need any more convincing, it can be frozen too!