Magical Cooking - #93 - 12th March 2025

Pumpkin Chilli - (Vegetarian/vegan/gluten free)

This dish is fabulous as a healthy filling option while the weather is still cold.

You can make it a hot or cool as you choose, its easy to make in 1 pan, so very little mess and you can also add in mince if your family are huge meat eaters. So this dish suits most palettes.

Batch cook it and freeze some for those days when you don’t have time or the inclination to start a meal from scratch. And let’s face it which witches don’t like a pumpkin??

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 Tbsp chili powder (more if you like it hotter)

3/4 tsp salt (or to taste)

3/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 

2 tins of chopped tomatoes (don’t drain)

1 tin of kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

1 tin of black beans (drained and rinsed)

3/4 litre of vegetable stock  

1 medium sized pumpkin, (chop into cubes, roast and then add to pan)

Garnish with roasted pumpkin seeds add sour cream and avocado as a dressing if you want)

Add onion and bell peppers to the oil and cook off till brown, then add the herbs to the pan.

Stir in all the tins and the stock, bring to the boil and then cover and leave to simmer until everything is cooked and soft.

Sprinkle the seeds and any other garnish you want on the top and serve while piping hot.

NB - If adding mince to the pot, do this before cooking off the onion and peppers.