Fluffy, soft baked potatoes with a crispy skin, filled with a sweet and spicy tomato chilli. Could anything be better on a cold winter night (or any night, for that matter)? I’ve been meaning to put together this recipe for ages but finally caved today, as our snow is starting to melt from a warm spell and I needed something cheerful and vibrant to defend against the winter blues. So, may I present: my vegan chilli loaded baked potatoes!
The things I love about this dish: the chilli is full of plant-based protein and wonderful spices. The potatoes are unreal when baked in the oven instead of cooked in the microwave. The chilli is really quick to pull together. The only downside is you have to remember to put the potatoes in way before you’re ready to eat, as they take about an hour to fully cook.
I’m trying to work my way through my pantry’s stores of dried beans, so today I used adzuki beans. These are smaller than a black bean, which would be a great alternative (as would kidney or pinto), and are usually used sweetened in Japanese recipes. Without any additives, they have a pretty neutral flavour and a nice smooth texture. I didn’t soak them in advance since I didn’t plan ahead, but below I’ll explain how I got them soft in a relatively short amount of time.
Chilli Loaded Baked Potatoes
Crispy baked potatoes piled with a sweet and spicy vegetable and bean chilli.
Ingredients
- 2 large potatoes
- 1/2 cup dried adzuki beans
- 1/2 cup yellow cooking onion diced
- 1/3 cup red pepper
- 1/3 cup corn
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp parsley
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375. Wash and scrub the potatoes. Prick them all over with a fork - this lets the moisture escape and makes the potatoes fluffier. Rub them with a small amount of olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Put them into the oven for about an hour - check with a fork to see if its fully baked, leaving it longer if needed.
To soften the beans: Put the adzuki beans in a pot with about two cups of water (add more if needed to make sure they are amply covered). Bring this to a boil, and remove the pot from the burner. Leave the lid on, and let this sit for the rest of the hour as the potatoes cook. The beans should become almost soft enough to squish in this time, since they are quite small.
When ready to prepare the chilli about the time the potatoes are done, put the beans back on a high burner (with more water if needed). While they come back to a boil, heat the olive oil over a medium-high heat and saut? the diced onion. When it turns clear, add the diced pepper and corn, and the paprika, parsley, garlic powder, cayenne, and salt.
Cover and let the vegetables soften. If the beans are adequately soft to eat, drain and rinse them before adding to the vegetables. Add in the cup of tomato sauce and stir well, allowing the chilli to simmer for a few minutes. If the chilli seems too thick, add a little vegetable stock to thin it out. Taste for seasonings.
When the potatoes are done baking, plate them and slice an X on top. Pinch the sides together to open the potato up. Spoon the chilli on top, and garnish with whatever you like -- shredded cheese (or vegan cheese), green onion, hemp hearts, etc.
Recipe Notes
If you're using a dried bean other than adzuki, you'll need more time for soaking, as adzuki is a relatively small bean. If you're using a canned bean, you can skip the soaking/boiling step.?
