Slow Cooker Chilli sans Carne

A good Chilli con Carne is one of the few things I miss as a pescatarian. Until recently, I had never quite found the right recipe to replace it.

My favourite ever Chilli was served at the Hunter's Lodge, a remote pub in the Mendip Hills, which I used to frequent in the early noughties. My friend Nikki and I used to love going for long winter walks with the dogs up in Stockhill woods, and sometimes we would repair to the pub to enjoy a good gossip and a hearty meal by the roaring fire.

Chilli con Carne has always been one of the few dishes on the menu at the Hunter's Lodge, and in those days it was a cracking one, always served with a satisfying doorstep of bread and butter. It was here that I learned of a simple stroke of genius - pairing chilli with a generous dob of sour cream and a spoonful of mint jelly.

The reviews online tell me that the Hunter's Lodge is still run by the same family. Nothing has changed - including the menu - and mobile phones are banned. It's an absolutely authentic place which caters mainly to locals in the know and potholers visiting the nearby caves. I always felt more comfortable and relaxed there than in any gastro pub or fake, synthesized 'Olde English inn'.

Here's my delicious vegetarian Chilli recipe. It's a useful standby to have in your arsenal, as it only needs a few fresh ingredients. Most of what you need will probably be to hand.

Ingredients

Fresh vegetables

• A huge onion (or two smaller ones)
• A large red pepper and a large yellow pepper
• Two cloves of garlic

From the store cupboard

• One can of kidney beans
• A 500g pack of passata
• A level tablespoon of ancho chilli flakes (these are quite mild and give you heaps of flavour)
• A level teaspoon of mustard (I used Colman's)
• A tablespoon of cider vinegar
• 100g pearl barley (I experimented with this hoping to add some of the mouthfeel of minced beef. It worked!)

To serve (optionally)

• Jacket potatoes
• Your favourite bread or rolls - for the full Hunter's Lodge experience it has to be doorsteps of farmhouse bread
• Sour cream
• Mint jelly (not mint sauce - it isn't the same!)

Method

1. Quarter and thinly slice the onion
2. Finely chop the peppers
3. Crush or finely chop the garlic cloves
4. Pour the kidney beans into a cereal bowl, drain them, rinse them, and then lightly hand squeeze them, so that the majority are crushed but some are left whole. This helps them to absorb the chilli flavours and contributes to thickening the sauce.
5. Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker and give them a bit of a stir
6. Cook on auto for about 5 hours.
7. Stir once after about 4 hours.
8. Depending on the thickness of your passata, you may want to add some extra fluid - I added about 5 tablespoons of water.
9. Serve on jacket potatoes, with bread rolls, or with doorsteps of farmhouse bread, topped with a spoonful of sour cream and some mint jelly.