Hearty! Nourishing! Protein packed! Flavoursome! Beans & quinoa are gently simmered in tomato & spices until a soft, thick stew emerges. I’m loosely calling this a chilli, though it’s not fiercely hot at all – there is some cayenne, but the other spices are smoked paprika, cumin & coriander.
To be honest, I haven’t used my slow cooker much but I was determined to make it happen this season. There’s something pretty satisfying about knowing a hearty meal awaits you at home.
This delivers a big batch of chilli. It freezes well, plus it’s pretty versatile – my son has spread it onto bread, piled it up with lettuce & cucumber and taken it to school as a hefty sandwich. He’s also been known to eat a bowl for breakfast. I piled it into a jar last week for a take-away lunch, loaded with salad (yes it was nice eaten cold, with lemon squeezed over the top. And yes, I managed to squash the lid on the jar!) 
I usually soak the beans/pulses the night before, then the next morning, it takes about ten minutes to throw everything together into the slow cooker. It’s worth getting up that ten minutes earlier, just for the smug knowledge that dinner is sorted for the evening, right?
Serving suggestions – this is a lovely hearty meal on its own, but I urge you to play around with what you enjoy & what’s in your fridge: try topping it with fresh coriander, a squeeze of lime, fresh chunks of avocado, a crisp salad, a bowl of rice, or even encased inside my soft little springy tortillas (recipe here)
1 cup adzuki beans (or other small bean)
½ cup red lentils
½ cup white quinoa *
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes, juice & all
½ cup tomato paste or passata
½ – 1 capsicum, roughly chopped
1 tsp gf vegetable stock powder
2 ½ tsp ground cumin
2 ½ tsp ground coriander
¾ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp cayenne
5 cups water
1 tsp salt (more to taste at end if required)
* black or red quinoa takes a bit longer to cook. The white quinoa seems to cook at a pace which matches the lentils & adzuki beans. But please use coloured quinoa if you’re willing to keep an eye on it! In the jar photo above, I’ve used black quinoa – it was still a tad crunchy when I first checked the chilli but fine after an extra half hour or so.
The night before: put all the beans, lentils & quinoa into a bowl and cover generously with water. Leave to soak overnight.
The next morning: drain & rinse the bean/lentil/quinoa mix and put into slow cooker. Add all the other ingredients and stir well.
Put the slow cooker on low and leave it to do its thing. Mine was great after 8 hours on low, but since all cookers can vary, check on it when you can to ensure all is well.
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