Lentil, Vegetable and Butter Bean Chilli

Ingredients

• 1 red onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1/2 Tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp chilli flakes
• 3 Tbsp red split lentils
• 1 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
• 150 ml (2/3 cup) water
• 1 400 g tin butter beans (drained)
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 350 ml (1 1/2 cups) water
• 3 Tbsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
• 1 medium courgette (zucchini)
• 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 large ripe avocado
• juice of 1/2 lime
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. 1

   Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Peel and finely chop the onion. Remove the core from the pepper and chop into approx 2cm squares.

2. 2

   Heat the Tbsp of olive oil in a non-stick frying pan on low heat and cook the onion for 5 mins until it softens. Add the chopped pepper to the pan with the onion, turn the heat to medium and cook for 3 mins.

3. 3

   Add the cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika, chilli flakes and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir together and cook for another minute.

4. 4

   Meanwhile, bring the 350ml water to a boil in a pot with the ¼ tsp of salt. Once boiling, add your rice to the pot, give it a stir and turn the heat to low. Cover the pot with a lid and leave on a low heat for 10 mins. After 10 mins switch off the heat and leave to rest for 10 mins. Don’t peek under the lid until the 20 mins are up!

5. 5

   Add the lentils to the onion mixture along with the chopped tomatoes and 150ml of water. Stir together and let the mixture bubble away on low heat uncovered for 15 mins until the lentils are soft and the sauce has thickened. Stir often to prevent the lentils from sticking. After the lentils have been cooking for 5 mins, drain and rinse the butter beans and add them to the pan..

6. 6

   While the chilli and rice are cooking cut the courgette in half lengthways, chop each half into four lengths and then into 6cm sticks. Toss the courgettes in the 1/2 tbsp of olive oil, 1/4 tsp salt and some pepper. Roast in the oven for 15 mins.

7. 7

   To make the guacamole, scoop the avocado flesh into a bowl along with the lime juice and some salt and pepper and roughly mash with a fork.

8. 8

   Once the rice is cooked, stir in the chopped coriander. Check the seasoning of the chilli and add more salt and pepper as needed. Serve the chilli with the rice, roasted courgette and a dollop of guacamole.