Three-Bean Chilli with Avocado Sour Cream

Method

Fire up your oven to 200°C. You want to roast the vegetables first, so you’ll need two large roasting trays.

Keep the garlic cloves whole and unpeeled in their papery shells. Dice the aubergines and peppers into postage stamp-sized pieces. Tumble the garlic and veg into your roasting tray(s), toss with the salt and give them a good lick of olive oil. Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until sweet and almost collapsing. If your tray is too packed, the veg will go soggy instead of caramelising – you won’t like this! Better to roast the veg across two or three trays if in any doubt.

Sweat your onions with another lick of olive oil in a large heavy-based pot for 12-15 minutes, until translucent. Shake over your dried spices halfway through. Once the onions are sweet and soft, add your platoon of drained beans and cook over a high heat for a further 3 minutes. Turn down the heat to a simmer, add the tinned tomatoes and stock and let the sauce thicken over 30 minutes. Add in a dash of maple syrup – this is needed to counter the acidity that tinned tomatoes introduce. If you fancy bowing to the carnivores in your house, you could also add some chopped cooking chorizo at this point. Irish Gubbeen is perfect.

When the tray of veg is ready, remove it from the oven. Carefully squeeze out the softened garlic from within their papery pods. It should be almost creamy. Discard the paper and add the roasted garlic to your simmering pot of beans. Tumble in the cooked veg.

To serve, spoon into bowls and grate sheep’s cheese on top (if using). Parachute some fresh coriander and crisp tortillas on top, with a side of avocado sour cream.

Avocado Sour Cream – Method: (FREE)

In a Vitamix or high-speed blender, pelt the avocado flesh, splash of water and a dash of lemon together until lusciously silky and smooth. Season to your preferred taste (I go heavy on the flaky salt, but if serving this to kids, it won’t need any seasoning).

Serve alongside curries, with your favourite fish, smothered on toast or offer to your teens with tortillas and a smug giggle (a smuggle?). Namaste.

Recipe extracted from Clever Batch by Susan Jane White (Gill Books, €24.99), available from easons.com. Photograph by Joanne Murphy.

Reminder:

60g of carbs per person is free at mealtimes. This recipe also works great with basmati rice/wholemeal tortilla wrap/wholewheat taco shells.