Sweet potato and black bean chilli

I make chilli a lot and so I love coming up with new flavour combinations to keep it different while still being the same, if that makes any sense. Sweet potato and black bean is my latest creation and it is so good! The sweet potato makes it a little sweeter than usual, but the spices still give it that fiery chilli kick. I'm also really into black beans at the moment, which make a nice change from the usual kidney beans you tend to find in chilli.

You will need (serves 3-4): 

1 large sweet potato

1 x 400g tin black beans 

1 large carrot 

1/2 cup sweetcorn

1 onion

2 cloves garlic 

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes 

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock (made with 1/2 stock cube)

3 tablespoons tomato puree

1 teaspoon dried chillies

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon herbs de Provence 

1 teaspoon oregano 

ground pepper to taste

Method: 

- Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic. Peel the sweet potato and carrot and chop into chunks.
- In a large pot over a medium heat, fry the onion and garlic in a little water for 3-4 minutes until softened.
- Add all the herbs and spices to the pot (chillies, paprika, cumin, herbs de Provence, oregano and black pepper). Fry these off for 2-3 minutes, continually stirring. 

- Add all the other ingredients to the pot (except the sweetcorn) and mix together. 

- Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for 30-35 minutes. 

- Stir through the sweetcorn and allow to heat through for a few minutes before serving.

I served this with some fresh homemade guacamole, which is super easy to make and so much tastier than buying a supermarket one. I just mashed up one ripe avocado and then added a little lemon juice, ground pepper, salt and chilli flakes - yum!

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