American

Slow Cooker Southern Bean Chilli

Slow Cooker Southern Bean Chilli

In my return to blogging I thought to come in hard and fast. Then I reached for my slow cooker after soaking beans in water for 12 hours and there goes the plan! This is just so damn good. It’s packed with richness and umami which truthfully, surprised me. I think I have been so used to beef or chipotle or adobo to provide depth so was blindly relying on the bacon and the power of time to come through with the goods. And goods it did! So yes, I hate to say that I fear removing the bacon from this otherwise classically vego dish would change the end flavour quite dramatically however it’s so yum that if it were me, I’d just give it a go anyway.

Now for the beans..
I used dried black beans, pinto beans and black eyed peas. Reasons for this: Better flavour. Better texture. Full of nutrients. Not at all harder given it’s all slow cooked together. Also, super cheap and allows for variety. Soak them overnight in a bowl full of water. You do this to hugely reduce the cooking time. If you want to use canned beans you 100% can and will still result in a win. You may struggle to find black eyed peas in a can so feel free to use kidney or butter beans instead.

Slow Cooker Southern Bean Chilli

Makes A LOT

Slow Cooker Southern Bean Chilli

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups of dried beans OR 3 x 400g can of beans – see above
  • 1 onion, halved and sliced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 4 rashes of bacon, roughly chopped
  • 1 carrot, quartered and sliced
  • 1 celery stalk, halved and sliced
  • 2tsp ground coriander
  • 2tsp ground cumin
  • 1tsp paprika
  • 1-2tsp chilli powder
  • 2tsp caster sugar
  • 1tsp salt
  • 3tsp tomato paste
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • Serve with rice and corn chips

Method

Whether dried (having soaked overnight) or canned, rinse your beans and leave aside. Plug in your slow cooker.

Get a fry pan on your highest heat and add the onion and garlic along with big glug of olives oil. Fry off until everything goes golden and caramelised then pop in your slow cooker. Next, do the same with your bacon.

Now add all the other ingredients to the slow cooker along with the beans and stir through with the chicken stock and an additional 2 1/2 cups of water. Cook on high for 4-5 hours stirring a few times throughout.

Serve over rice with corn chips for dipping deliciousness.