What could be more comforting than a beautiful pot of chilli cooked on your wood burning stove?!
So, the strange February heatwave is over and we’re back to the biting winds of late spring. The daffodils are shivering and the primroses are wishing they hadn’t poked their delicate little heads out of the earth.
We went for a gorgeous walk at the weekend to make the most of the sunshine and we were buffeted along by the strong gusts, negotiating a huge tree beside a stream which had spectacularly split down the middle, falling half across the stream, and half across the path. Our walk was a 4 mile circular between the beautiful villages of Fairford and Quenington in Gloucestershire. One of the highlights of the walk is Knight’s Gate, an amazing 12th century gateway at Quenington. You can find the walk here.
We could have stopped at Lynwood’s for some sustenance when we got back to Fairford - Highly recommended! However, our cosy house was calling us, and Mark was of the opinion that, lovely though Lynwood’s coffee is, he felt the need to hunker down on this particular day.
So, home we came, and fired up the wood burner. I wanted to trial this new recipe - Burnt Aubergine Veggie Chilli. as I had graffiti aubergines from the local market to use up (like you do, long story!)
It bubbled away perfectly on top of the stove and inside the stove, double-wrapped in foil, were our jacket spuds – not only saving fuel but becoming infused with that beautiful smoky flavour only a real fire can impart. Mark likes his meat, so I didn’t tell him that the chilli was veggie until he’d eaten it. He was absolutely astonished!! – and very complimentary about it. I served it with diced avocado, chopped coriander and soured cream, and, though I say it myself, it really was delicious. Cheap and easy to make too. We’ll ring the changes and have it with rice and peshwari naan when we eat up the leftovers.
Try it!
