Quinoa Chili With All The Toppings

I don’t know what’s better – the way this chilli let’s me justify having half a bag of nacho chips for dinner or the fact that it makes enough to last a week, so I can have nacho chips for dinner every night.

It’s warm and hearty, and it compliments my all-things-sour addiction as I can drown it in lime juice as much as I want. Just give it a try and see for yourself!

Recipe feeds the two of us about 4 times, so I guess that’s 8 servings (?)

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized onion
• 2 cloves of garlics
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• 1 zucchini
• 1 red pepper
• 400 g // 1 small can kidney beans
• 400 g // 1 small can black beans
• 800 ml // 2 small cans chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 150 g // ¾ cup uncooked quinoa
• 500 ml // 2 cups vegetable stock (i.e. 1 stock cube + 500 ml hot water)

To serve (and these might be the most important):

• sweet chilli sauce
• greek yogurt (or any plain yogurt will work)
• avocado, sliced, cubed or mashed – you do you
• lime wedges
• lots of your favourite nacho chips

Instructions

1. I suggest chopping everything up (onion, garlic, zucchini, red pepper) and rinsing both beans beforehand in order to avoid unnecessary stress while cooking and trying to do it as everything else is burning. But I never follow my own advice, so feel free to do as you please. (:
   
   
2. Heat up some oil in a big saucepan, add in chopped onion and minced garlic and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.
   
   
3. Add all the spices with a splash of water to keep them from burning and stir for a minute.
   
   
4. (If you didn’t follow my advice, now is the time to stressfully chop up the zucchini and red pepper while stirring the spices with your other hand and rising the beans with the third.)
   
   
5. Add the vegetables and beans to the pan, stir and let them cook for a minute.
   
   
6. Add both cans of chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, uncooked quinoa, and vegetable stock and mix well, making sure that the quinoa is somewhat submerged.
   
   
7. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat for about 20-25 minutes stirring every so often to allow the quinoa to cook evenly. Cook until quinoa is done and the chilli has thickened and looks more like a chilli and less like a soup. Add some salt to taste.
   
   
8. Now for the fun part: serve in a wide bowl, drizzle over a generous amount of sweet chilli sauce and add a dollop (about 1 big tbsp) of greek yogurt on top. Add half of an avocado and drizzle some lime juice all over the bowl. For extra flavour, sprinkle some salt and chilli flakes on top. Ta-daa!
   
   
9. Feel free to leave forks and spoons in the cupboard, because the best way to eat this is scooping it up with a nacho chip for the perfect bite, 10/10 would recommend.