Mornings are my favourite time of the day. First one up, nice and peaceful, the kitchen all to my self. I have a feeling I was up so early because of my stupid cold making breathing a challenge 
The weather has been awful this week, and I thought my immune system could do with some extra vitamin C, so I decided to make one of my favourite winter recipes. Vegetarian chilli. Most people think oranges are the best source of vitamin c, but alas! They are no where near as good as capsicums. One cup of diced red capsicum contains more than three times the amount of vitamin c that we need for the day :O (RDI for females = 30mg). Other sources high in vitamin C include chillies, guavas, and kiwi fruit.
I stopped using a recipe a while back because I got lazy, so it changes a little every time but always tastes good. My last batch was my best because I finally managed to find chipotle chilies, which made a big difference – so well worth it if you can be bothered sourcing them. (I found mine at a fancy foodie store in Footscray).
Recipe as follows (for now)
2 x tbs olive oil
1x large onion
3 x cloves garlic
1 x tsp each of cumin, cinnamon and smoked paprika
1 x chipotle chilli in adobe sauce
1 x tin of crushed tomatoes
2 x tins kidney beans (or 1 cup dried)
1 x red capsicum
1 x green capsicum
1 x tbs good quality cocoa
1 x large sweet potato
coriander to finish
pre-heat oven to 200
coat the sweet potato in olive oil, cumin and a bit of sea salt pop it in the oven for about 30 minutes or until it looks nice and golden
mean while sauté the onion in oil till soft add the spices and garlic and cook for a minute but watch they don’t burn
add the tin of tomatoes, chilli and 2 tins of water and the rest of the ingredients then throw in the cocoa and give it a good stir
cook slowly for about 45 minutes when it’s reduced a bit then you’re good to go!
Top with roasted sweet potato and garnish with coriander I like to serve mine with brown rice too
A side note to burst our bubbles à it’s actually a bit of a myth that vitamin c can boost your immune system when you’re sick. Sorry guys! No conclusive links have been found between the two. Some research has shown that vitamin c may reduce the duration of a cold slightly, but once you’re infected it’s too late! But by all means, go ahead and try anyway, can’t hurt to load up on oranges, capsicums and garlic! Maybe there will be a placebo effect and you will trick yourself into feeling better 😉
The Melbeanian 