Vegetarian ‘Chili con carne’ on Baked Potatoes

Serves 4-6

If you are choosing to go meat-free, this is a dish where you won’t even notice the difference thanks to the clever use of powerfully-flavored spices used (ground cumin; ground coriander; cayenne pepper) – all the standard spices that make up a traditional chili con carne.

For this recipe, I used the versatile and widely available QUORN MINCE (see the vegetarian frozen aisle). However, their ‘mince’ does contain egg white so this dish would be suitable for vegetarians, but not vegans.

1 onion, peeled
3 cloves garlic, peeled
olive oil
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tin chopped tomatoes
dash water or vegetable stock
500g like Quorn ‘mince’ (see intro)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly chopped parsley
4-6 large potatoes

Use a sharp knife to finely chop the onion and garlic. Add to a non-stick pan or wok along with a generous glug of olive oil. Cook over a low-moderate heat until the onions and garlic become translucent and start to caramelise.

Add the cumin, coriander and cayenne pepper and cook for a few seconds, stirring well to combine. Tip in the chopped tomatoes along with a small dash of hot water or vegetable stock. Bring the mixture to the boil, then add the vegetarian ‘mince’ and reduce to a simmer. Cook over low heat until most of the ‘wateriness’ cooks out and you are left with a thick, chunky mixture. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and set aside to keep warm.

In the meantime, cook the spuds. There are many ways do this, but the easiest way is to simply pierce each potato all over with a fork then make a criss-cross incision 1/3 through on the top of each one with a sharp knife - and cook in the microwave on high heat for 7-8 minutes until each one is soft.

I would advise doing this in 2-3 batches. This really is the quickest way. You could boil or bake the potatoes, but that will take longer.

To serve, push open each potato where the skins have split on the surface and drizzle over a little olive oil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cover with the warm vegetarian ‘chili’ mix. Scatter over freshly chopped parsley