Vegetarian Chili in Roasted Pepper with Homemade Tortilla Chips

Making your own tortilla chips is suuuper easy. When I was looking for recipes online most of them just said 'buy tortillas, put salt on them, throw them in a pan of hot oil'.

But that's cheating. Don’t do that. You don’t want to be known as the person that cheats

Besides, you probably have all the ingredients for tortilla chips at home already.

And did I mention that it’s super easy??

Tortilla Chips from scratch (makes 1 serving)

1/2 cup cornflakes*

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp chives

salt to taste

1/2 cup water

oil for frying

*Yes, I used cornflakes.....as in the thing you eat with milk for breakfast. It was a mission impossible to find cornmeal here, so I just got a pack of unsweetened cornflakes. It works perfectly!!!

Use a blender to blitz the cornflakes until they resemble cornmeal. Mix in the flour and seasoning. I chose cayenne and chives but you could also try to make paprika chips or salt and pepper chips. 

Slowly add water to the mixture until it forms a ball of dough. It shouldn't be sticky so you might not need all of the water.

Divide the dough into two balls. Roll them each out as thinly as possible between two pieces of parchment paper. 

Put about a tablespoon of oil into a frying pan and fry each side of the tortilla until golden.

(Now you could use these tortillas for wraps or quesadillas)

Cut each tortilla into 8 equal triangles.

Transfer the tortilla triangles into a pot of hot oil (about 2 inches of oil are enough). Fry them again until they are starting to crisp up.

Take the chips out and quickly put them on some kitchen paper so they don't become soggy.

When you are all done making your homemade tortilla chips and you feel proud, like you should be, you can start thinking about what to dip those beauties into. If you can resist to eat them straight out of the frying pan that is.....

I decided to serve my chips with some chili stuffed peppers.
The chili I made tastes more like Mexican chili than the Gringo version. Are only Mexican people allowed to call Americans Gringos? I am not Mexican. But my boyfriend might be…that would explain the insane amount of burritos he scoffs down.

Anyway….Chili is one of those dishes that you don't really need a recipe for. Use whatever veggies you have sitting in your fridge waiting to be used up. Put chickpeas in it. Try lamb or minced beef if you like it meaty. Heck, add a whole habanero chilli if you feel particularly brave. 

I left out barbecue sauce since barbecue sauce is gross and the sauce of the devil (truth!), and I added a bit of lime and cilantro instead. There you have it, Mexican chili.

Vegetarian Chili in a Roasted Pepper*

1 big red pepper

olive oil

2/3 cup diced onions

1/2 cup sweet corn

1/2 cup kidney beans

1 cup diced red and green pepper

1/2 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 cup vegan mince

2 grated cloves of garlic

1 chopped jalapeno

1 cup vegetable stock

1/2 cup double concentrated tomato puree

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp granulated sugar

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp ground coriander

some fresh coriander leaves

juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

*The measurements are estimated, it's best to taste your chili constantly while you make it so you can adjust all the flavors to your liking.

First de-core the red pepper, cover it in some olive oil and salt and roast it in the oven at 200C for about half an hour so it gets soft and sweet.

Add olive oil and the onions to a big pot and let the onions caramelize a bit before you put in all your vegetables. Let the veggies cook a bit in their own juices. Add the vegetable stock, tomato puree and the seasoning. Now let it all simmer for a while so it reduces down and the different flavors can develop.

When you think your chili is done, add some fresh coriander and fill it into the roasted pepper. I put some cheese at the bottom of the pepper and to top it off and put it back into the oven for about 10 minutes so the cheese is melted nicely.

So now you have created a delicious chili, to be enjoyed by both Mexicans and Non-Mexicans.