chili | beach house kitchen

“The aroma of good chili should generate rapture akin to a lover’s kiss.”
Motto of the Chili Appreciation Society International

It is chilly here! But not in the good way, we thought we’d flip that and add a spicy chili to get some heat back into our sleepy Welsh village. I know I keep on going on about the weather, but it is a bit of an issue. We need the sun!

Chili is the epitome of soul food and I love the heated variety in all its forms, it was probably one of the first things I became passionate about cooking.

Chili is a dish that originated in the south of America, probably Texas and they are mighty proud of their dish down there. I wonder what they would think of this, beef-less/chilled version. I think I’d probably have to leave the state.

Chili originated, like most good soul food, in poorer homes and was made by scraping together ingredients that were available. This raw chili was made with a similar sentiment, but we just happen to have loads of veggies and raw food bits. The principal is the same. Make do and make very tasty.

There are so many options to play with here if you are not raw. I would definitely like to see some sweetcorn in here somewhere, but it needs cooking.

This raw food is addictive, in the sense that when you eat cooked food, you feel quite rubbish. Your belly complains (swollen and windy) and your energy levels are low. You become very sensitive to foods and this isn’t a bad thing, but it can be a challenge when travelling and socialising. You can come across as some kind of nutter! It has certainly made us more aware about what we are putting into our bodies and who our real friends are!

This sauce can be warmed up and poured over roasted veggies, which sounds delicious! The beauty of these raw things, are their simplicity. Whack it all in a blender and you’re off, leave it in the fridge and heat it later. A very easy dinner and something a little different. If you heat it to just over warm (seems to be a decent enough gauge) you will not kill all the good stuff either.

The inspiration for this recipe comes from the raw cookbook, ‘Live Raw by Mimi Kirk’ and a mighty vibrant read it is.

The Bits

Sauce – 1 cup of sun dried tomatoes (soaked for two hours to make tender), 2 cups of tomatoes (chopped and organic), 1/2 cup of carrots (chopped), 1 sweet yellow pepper, 1 small chilli (check the heat there), 2 cloves garlic (crushed), 2 tbs tamari (or g.f. soya sauce for non-rawers), 1 tbs of each evoo (e.v. olive oil), apple cider vinegar (white wine vinegar will do), agave syrup (or sugar) and chilli powder, then 1 teas cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, fresh cracked pepper, 1 handful of chopped coriander leaves.

Chunky Bits – 1 cup sprouts (mung beans, aduki beans, or green lentils something nice and fat, we mixed them up a little), 1/2 cup celery, 1/2 sweet potato, 1 courgette, 1 sweet red pepper, handful of chopped mushrooms

Do It

Chop all of your chunky bits into funky shapes, set aside in a big bowl.

Add all sauce ingredients to a blender and whizz away until smooth.

Pour sauce over base (we were a little stingy with ours, it should look more like a stew really) and mix together. Ideally, leave in the fridge for a while to let the flavours get together.

Serve

We would normally have an avocado on this, but had none. Next time. This would be great with some corn bread or tortillas (if you have a dehydrator handy) and would also be amazing with sour cream (raw cashew cream is very good indeed) and of course, loads of cheese and coriander.

We Love It!

Just the spice and fuel we needed in our lives this windy, wet summer.

Foodie Fact

It’s a fruit! A gift from the Mayans and Aztecs, native to Central America and then shipped around the world by those dodgy conquistador types. Tomatoes are low in fat and cholesterol and are full of good things. They contain lycopene, that is a super antioxidant that protects your cells and also your skin (from the sun). They are also rich in vitamin A and C and have great levels of potassium. When picking tomatoes to eat, the redder the better.