Easy
6 hungry people
15 mins prep time, 25 to 30 mins cook time
Ingredients5 large dried chillies (Tio Pablo and Kaitaia Fire do them; choose your level of heat) 2 cups warm water 5 cloves garlic, chopped 2 tablespoons good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder (yes, you read that right) 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 large onion, finely chopped 250g tempeh or 500g beef mince 2 teaspoons soy sauce or tamari 1 zucchini, sliced 1 1⁄2 cups cooked beans eg. butter beans, black beans 1 tablespoon dried oregano 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
5 cups vegetable or beef stock 1 teaspoon maple syrup or other liquid sweetener Juice of 1 lime Your favourite toppings eg. sliced cabbage, sliced spring onion, radishes cut into matchsticks, coriander leaves, sliced avocado Lime wedges, to serve Buttered bread, to serve (optional) |
Let's cookGrab a big pot or griddle and toast the dried chillies on both sides for about 2 minutes until they get a little bendy and soft. Don’t let them burn. When they are all good, throw them in a bowl with the warm water and let them soak for 15-20 minutes. When the chillies are nice and rehydrated take them out of the water but hold onto the water. Cut off the chilli tops, remove the seeds and chop them all up. Throw them in a blender or food processor with the water they were soaked in, garlic and cocoa powder and run it until the chilli-garlic paste looks all mashed- up with no big chunks left. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Grab the tempeh or beef mince and crumble it right into the pot in small chunks and cook for about 3 more minutes until both the onion and tempeh or mince starts to brown. Add the soy sauce for a little flavour. Add the zucchini, beans, oregano, cumin and salt. Stir everything together, then add the chilli-garlic paste you made earlier. Toss that all around until everything is well coated and then add the stock. Cover the pot and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes to get all the flavours to combine. Next add the maple syrup and lime juice. Taste and adjust the spices to the way you want it. Serve hot with your favourite toppings and some buttered bread for the perfect winter comfort food. This soup freezes really well. Tip: This soup doesn’t end up very spicy because you’re removing the seeds from the chillies. If you like it hotter, add some seeds or 1/2 teaspoon of chilli powder to the paste. You may find you only need to use one cup of the chilli water in the paste if you don’t use a big food processor. |
