Ham and Yam Chilli

Researcher paulh shares his chilli recipe with us:

I invented this recipe one night when I wanted to try something a bit different. I had ham, a yam, some canned beans and tomatoes, and a wide variety of spices on hand. To my surprise, it turned out to be very tasty.

Ingredients

Herbs and Spices

• 2 tsp (10ml) of chilli powder
• 1½ tsp (7.5ml) of cumin powder
• 1 tsp (5ml) of ground coriander
• 1 tsp (5ml) of oregano
• 1 tsp (5ml) of garlic powder

Other Ingredients

• a dab of olive oil in the bottom of the cooking pot
• 2½ cups (600ml) of water
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) of vinegar
• two 15-oz cans (850g) of tomatoes
• one 15-oz can (425g) of dark kidney beans (drain and rinse well)
• one 15-oz can (425g) of low-sodium green beans
• one 6-oz can (170g) of tomato paste
• 8 oz (225g) of chopped kale (frozen is fine)
• one yam (or sweet potato), peeled and diced
• one onion, peeled and diced
• 8 oz (225g) of ham, diced
• three stalks of celery, diced

Method

Begin by assembling the olive oil, the water, and the vinegar in a cooking pot. Mix the spices together and stir them into the water. Open the canned vegetables and add them, followed by the kale. Dice the onion, yam, celery and ham, and stir them into the other ingredients. Bring everything to the boil, lower the heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Just before serving, stir the tomato paste into it.

The chilli makes three or four servings. If you try the recipe, you can be flexible with some of the ingredients. Yams and sweet potatoes would work equally well. If you don't have kale, other leafy green vegetables would work.