This is a feel good supper. It’s filling and hearty without being bloaty and guilty! I’ve been reading a brilliant book recently called ‘Gut’ by Giulia Enders, its really accessible for unsciency types like me, and really insightful when it comes to understanding how we digest food, how long it takes and what a powerful, totally underrated organ the gut is. It turns out that if we feed our gut bacteria well and give it enough time and space to give itself a good clean, we can powerfully influence our state of mind, health and well-being. Food is more than fuel, it’s the very building blocks of our being. I can’t recommend the book highly enough, and if you’re not convinced here’s a video of Giulia talking about the book. So back to the gut friendly recipe! Putting these ingredients together was originally inspired by Deliciously Ella’s Mexican Quinoa Bowl which is a recipe worth checking out. Although, chilli’s been part of our repertoire since I can remember, the addition of the cashew cream and guacamole is new. You’ll find variations on our chilli & Guacamole recipes here: ‘Hole Guacamole, The Recipe for Immortality’, ‘Fast-Slow Food, Quick Vegan Chilli’. Enjoy! (And soak the cashews first!!)
Ingredients For the Chilli (serves 2):
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
2 green chillis
1 can plum tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans
1/2 cup red lentils
Small Glass red wine
salt & pepper to taste
2 handfuls spinach
For the Coriander Cashew Cream:
3 handfuls cashew nuts
20g fresh coriander
1 tbsp tamari
For the Guac:
1 avocado
1/2 green chilli
1/2 clove garlic
Juice 1/2 lime
pinch salt & pepper
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
tbsp fresh chopped coriander
Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C, pierce the sweet potatoes with a sharp knife and place on a baking tray in the oven. Bake for around 45 minutes until they are soft through.
2. Heat a tbsp olive oil in a pan on the hob.
3. Finely slice the onion, de-seed and chop the chilli, crush and chop the garlic and add to the pan. Soften for around 10 minutes on a low heat.
4. Add the glass of wine & stir.
5. Add the tinned tomatoes, drain the kidney beans and add to the pan. Stir and add a generous pinch of salt & pepper along with the red lentils.
6. Simmer gently for around 20 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Fill the tomato can with water and add a little to the chilli if it becomes too dry.
Method for the Guac:
1. Add the avocado to a bowl. de-seed and chop the chilli, crush and chop the garlic and finely chop the coriander, stir through the avocado along with the lime, olive oil and salt and pepper.
Method for Coriander Cashew Cream:
1. Soak the cashews in water for as long as possible, ideally up to 4 hours, but even 1/2 hour will soften them slightly. The softer they are the creamier the consistency they’ll blend to.
2. Drain the cashews and add to a blender along with 20g fresh coriander, 1 tbsp Tamari a pinch of pepper and enough water to cover around 1/3 of the cashews. Blend to a smooth consistency.
Serve together in a big bowl…
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