Winter Warmer Chilli Pot: with Bean, Courgette and Sweet Potato

I love a good Chilli - with meat, with beans, with veg, any which way as long as it's rich, spicy and warming, especially in this cold wintery weather (yes it's chilly in New Orleans!). It's so simple to make, and with my three secret ingredients (one I have recently discovered is Vegetarian), the sauce still tastes robust and meaty so you don't feel like you're being deprived of the carne even when you're a meat eater! I use two types of beans, always Kidney beans, but the other I just get whatever I fancy on the day, in this case it was butter beans...Enjoy :-)

Ingredients:

any two types of canned beans
good quality chopped tomatoes (trust me, it makes a difference)
thick chilli sauce, like Maggi's
1 x courgette, chopped into quarters
1 x sweet potato, chopped into 2 pence size chunks
1 x red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
olive oil
2-3 teaspoons Bisto original (yes, it's vegetarian!)
1-2 teaspoons Marmite
1-2 tsp ground cinnamon  (thanks to Sinne, by way of Nigella for this little gem)

For the Gaucamole:

1 x ripe avocado
garlic puree (not essential)
lemon juice (not essential)

To serve:

sour cream
grated cheese (i like to use a medium cheddar or feta for something different)

(Serves two hungry people with a small lunch leftover)

Instructions:

1. chop onion, garlic, sweet potato and courgette; drain bean and rinse.

2. fry onions in olive oil in a large saucepan until soft and translucent then add the garlic and chilli; stir for a minute before adding the beans and sweet potato.

3. Empty the chopped tomatoes into the pot and stir then add the chilli sauce to your taste (I use about 2 tablespoons).

4. Next add 2 teaspoons of Bisto, 1 teaspoon of Marmite and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon (you can add more later, but I think start small and then build up)

5. Cover and leave to simmer for about half and hour to 40 mins or until the potato starts to soften and the sauce thickens. Add the courgette after about 20 mins (check at 10 minute intervals to ensure it doesn't start to boil and to add more chilli sauce, Bisto, Marmite and Cinnamon to your taste).

6. Serve when all the ingredients are soft and the sauce is thick.

7. to serve I make a simple gaucamole that's quite mild to compliment the chilli by mashing an avocado and using a little garlic puree, a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of black pepper but simply mashing an avocado will do just fine.

8. Add some grated or crumbled cheese and a dollop of sour cream and it's good to go...