
Chili is such a perfect winter warmer and I realised that I never posted a good recipe for this classic dish. It’s definitely about time! Mine is a vegan lentil chili with roasted butternut squash and black beans stirred through for more texture and flavour. It’s a delicious combo along with the rich and spicy tomato sauce. Feel free to use as many chili flakes as you want to make it as spicy as you feel is fun and if you have fresh chilis on hand go ahead and use them!
This Sunday, the 10th of January 2021, at 6 pm CET I’ll be cooking this live on YouTube so join me on the channel if you want to cook along. I hope you will!
Malin x


Lentil Chili w/ Butternut Squash
Makes roughly 8 servings.
INGREDIENTS:
1 medium / 1 kg butternut squash
2,5 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
1 large / 150 g brown onion
5 / 20 g garlic cloves
2 / 150 g roasted peppers from a jar
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
0,75 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp dried oregano
2 tbsp tomato paste
400 g green or brown lentils
2 cans / 800 g chopped tinned tomatoes
900 ml water
1 tbsp stock powder
1 / 380 g can (cooked) black beans
A large handful / 20 g fresh coriander
Salt and black pepper, to taste
METHOD:
Soak your lentils in water for 1 hour or more.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius fan assisted. Remove the seeds as well as the peel, if you wish, from the pumpkin and cube it into bite sized pieces. Places them on a baking sheet, drizxle with 0,5 tbsp of oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat and roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until soft and golden around the edges.
Chop the onion and garlic. Slice up the pepper into bite sizes pieces. Heat the remaining oil gently in a large pot or dutch oven. Sauté the onion for a couple of minutes until softened. Then turn the heat all the way down. Add the garlic and stir it through. Add all your spices and stir them through. Add a little splash of water so you don’t burn them. Then add the tomato paste and stir it through for about a minute.
Add the lentils and stir them through the spice paste followed by the canned tomatoes, chopped peppers, water and vegetable stock powder. Give it all a good mix, cover the pot and bring it to a boil. Then turn it down to a simmer and allow to cook for roughly 30 minutes covered. Check on the chili throughout the cooking time, giving it a stir now and again to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan.
Once the lentils are tender you can take the chili off the heat unless for some reason you have a lot of liquid left in the pot. Most of it should be absorbed by the lentils so that you have a nice stew like texture but if it hasn’t you can let it reduce down a little longer uncovered until you reach a better consistency.
Chop the fresh coriander roughly and stir it through once the chili is off the heat and fold in the roasted butternut squash. Season to taste and serve.
You could serve this on its own topped with some vegan sour cream, more fresh coriander and a nice cabbage slaw on the side as a suggestion. Or you could serve it over a grain like rice or quinoa or along with some tortilla chips or soft tortillas.

Cider Poached Pears with Ginger Sauce and Caramelised Nuts
- 2 pears (firm )
- 2 Cups cups dry pear cider ( (I used one with 0,5 per cent alcohol))
- 0,5 tsp ginger powder (or 3 half centimeter slices of fresh ginger)
- 1 tsp corn starch (or arrowroot starch)
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 handful pecan and walnut halves
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- Preheat the oven to 175 degrees celsius fan assisted.
- Peel your pears and cut them into halves. Use a pairing knife to remove the butt end and the core. You could also use a teaspoon to remove the core. Set aside.
- Bring the cider to a boil along with the ginger in a sauce pan just large enough to fit the pear halves side by side with no overlap. Once boiling place the pears cut side down into the pot and cover with a lid. Simmer the pear halves for 20-30 minutes, flipping them over halfway through. When a tooth pick goes through the pear easily they are done.
- While the pears cook break the pecans and walnuts into small pieces and mix them with the sesame seed and maple syrup. Place the mixture on a lined baking sheet and spread it out into a single layer. Place in the middle of the oven and toast for 10 minutes, giving them a mix halfway through. Once toasted let them cool and then break the caramelised nut and seed mixture into small pieces.
- Once the pears are soft remove them from the pot and set aside. Also remove the ginger pieces if you used fresh ginger. Mix the corn or arrowroot starch with the water until smooth and pour into the simmering cider while stirring continuously. Simmer for another 3-4 minutes or until it thickens into a glaze like sauce.
- Serve the pears in bowls with the ginger cider sauce and I suggest some vegan whipped cream, top with a sprinkling of the caramelised nuts and seeds.
- Serve with:Vegan whipped cream, vanilla cashew cream, vegan custard orvegan vanilla ice cream
Hej!
Hur mycket färdigskuren pumpa skulle du tippa att det motsvarar?
Har en påse pumpatärningar i frysen som behöver gå åt 🙂
hej karin,
nu hjalper detta svaret nog inte sa jattemycket men det ar tyvarr inget jag matt upp.
kanske 800 g tinad? 🙂 hoppas att chillin blev bra anda! 🙂