Creamy Mexican Red Pepper and Bean Stew

Smoky, Spicy, Soup-er.

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I somehow ended up marrying a man who hates soup. I know! I mean, I love soup in all forms and all its glory. From chicken noodle to ramen to country vegetable, you’ll be hard pressed to find a week this time of year where I don’t whip up a bowl and slurp away to my heart’s content. I love it because it’s warming, I love it because it’s easy (…and – I’m just throwing it out there – it kind of helps that it usually comes with a hulking chunk of crusty bread). But according to Sunny, it’s not food, it’s (get this…) SUSTENANCE. Apparently it’s boring. It’s bland. It’s… bleughhh (whatever that means). You get the point.

So I kind of made it my mission this Autumn to find a soup that he will eat, so that I can eat more of the stuff (win-win, right?). And I think I’ve found it! We’re both big fans of Mexican Food, it’s our weekly jam; Burrito Bowls, Quesadillas, Chilli con no Carne (Quorn Mince, yo; it’s brilliant) are foods we can definitely agree on. He loves the beans and the smoky chipotle heat, I love the tomato and pepper based sauces and – let’s be honest – all the cheese. So I thought, why not throw all that (minus the cheese) into soup form? And that’s exactly what I did. Roasted tomatoes and peppers, chipotle chilli paste and coconut milk make up the stew, while the added onions, borlotti beans and butter beans bring in a little texture. It doesn’t look like much, but it’s absolutely delicious (and vegan friendly) – and best of all? The hubs totally agrees. Boo-ya. 😉

Creamy Mexican Red Pepper and Bean Stew

So good you’ll want seconds…

Ingredients

• 1 red romano pepper, chopped
• 250g mixed baby tomatoes, sliced
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 can of butter beans
• 1 can of borlotti beans
• good glug of olive oil
• 2 tbsp chipotle chilli paste
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1tsp barbecue sauce (oh yes…)
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 100ml water
• salt and pepper to taste
• sour cream to serve
• fresh coriander to garnish

Method

1. Set your oven to 180C. Throw the chopped red pepper and sliced tomatoes into an oven proof dish with 1 tbsp of the chipotle chilli paste, season with black pepper and then roast for 30 minutes.
2. Pop a deep cooking pot on the hob on a medium heat with some oil. Fry up the garlic paste and 1 tbsp of the chipotle chilli paste with the diced onion – until translucent.
3. Pour in the roasted pepper and tomatoes, then add the paprika, coriander and barbecue sauce. Stir until well-combined. Pour in the butter and borlotti beans, and then the coconut milk and water. Stir well to combine.
4. Crank up the heat and allow the stew to boil. Pop on a lid, turn the head down and allow the stew to simmer for about 20 minutes – stirring occasionally.
5. Season, then serve with fresh sour cream and chopped, fresh coriander. Yum!

You can watch a video of me making this soup over on IGTV. Have a lovely week everyone – keep warm! 🙂