Vegetarian Chilli GF SCD

This simple, tasty, vegetarian and vegan chilli recipe is gluten free and suitable for the SCD. I'm not that keen on very spicy food but the rest of my family love it - the more chilli the better. Apparently, most people think that the seeds are the hottest part of a chilli pepper but the heat comes from an oil called capsaicin. This is concentrated in the internal membranes which holds the seeds in place and not from the seeds themselves which actually don't produce any capsaicin. So when you scrape out the seeds you remove the membranes and therefore the heat from the chilli pepper. 

Vegetarian Chilli GF SCD

1 red bell pepper
125g mushrooms

1 large onion

2 cloves garlic crushed

390g carton organic kidney beans or 230g cooked kidney beans

400g tinned organic chopped tomatoes (nothing added)

350g organic passata (with only salt added)

2 level tsps mild chilli powder (not SCD) and ½ finely chopped red chilli pepper or SCD Chilli powder to taste or 2 fresh red chilli peppers
1 tsp cumin

½ tsp paprika

⅛ tsp cayenne pepper

3 tsps dried oregano

salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil

Serves 4

• Measure out the herbs and spices. De-seed and chop the fresh chilli peppers very finely if using them instead of the powder.
• Heat a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a pan.
• Chop the onion finely and add it to the pan with the finely chopped red chilli pepper then cook gently for about five minutes then add the crushed garlic to the pan.
• Dice the red pepper and add to the pan with the spices and oregano. If you are using chilli powder made from dried chilli peppers don't add it at this stage.
• Continue to cook for a couple of minutes. Slice the mushrooms and tip into the pan.
• Cook for a further minutes, stirring regularly. Add the chopped tomatoes and passata. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for 20 minutes. If you are using chilli powder made from dried chilli peppers start to add at this stage. Begin with a quarter of a teaspoon (or less) and keep adding small amounts throughout the 20 minutes until you have the required level of hotness. Adding at the early stage of cooking will produce a hotter chilli.
• Rinse the kidney beans under running water and add to the pan.
• Simmer for a further 10 minutes.
• Serve with brown basmati rice (not SCD) or with Cauliflower Rice (SCD).