Vegan Chili Cheese Fries

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've been away house sitting and before that visiting my uni roots in Southampton. If you keep up with my Facebook page (shamless plug there guys) you will have seen that I ate myself in to a near coma with takeaways, cake and nachos from Laura and homemade pizza and beer batter halloumi from Georgie. So upon my return I decided I should probably eat some vegetables and a bit less saturated fat. As I was housesitting, I thought there was no chance of bad food making it's way in to my fridge. Of course it did in the end and I ended up eating beer battered halloumi again (it's just too good) and profiteroles, but I started my week with good intentions!

Sorry for the non DSLR'd picture, I'm house sitting and forgot the charger!

I've already mentioned my love for chili cheese fries, I found them when I was on holiday in America about 9 years ago and I became a full on addict. This was just before I became vegetarian so they were meaty and available everywhere. I loved them so much I even scoured the airport and managed to find some to eat before I went home. I must have become a vegetarian soon after that holiday and decided I could easily vegetarianise them. So since I'm eating less dairy at the moment and was trying to be healthy, I decided to try and veganise them. So I switched my regular chili for bean chili, normal potatoes for sweet ones and cheese for vegan cream cheese. They satisfied my chili cheese fries craving AND I didn't even feel guilty afterwards*!

Serves 2:

2 large sweet potatoes
1 tsp Olive oil + more for the sweet potatoes
1 small red onion finely chopped
1 clove of garlic crushed
1 red pepper chopped
1 tsp mild chili powder
1 can of mixed beans in chili tomato sauce
1 can of chopped tomatoes
As much tofutti cream cheese as you want

1. Start off by preheating the oven to 200 degrees and pop a baking tray with a big glug of oil on in in to the oven.
2. Heat 1tsp of olive oil in a sauce pan then add the chopped onion and the garlic to the oil and sweat on a low heat for around 5 minutes, then add the red pepper and chili powder and cook for a further 10 minutes. 
3. While the onions and peppers are cooking chop the sweet potato in to chip shapes (as chippy as you can, they do come in strange shapes) and place them on to the hot pan with oil on and pop it back in to the oven and leave to cook for around 20-25 minutes
4. Add the beans and chopped tomatoes to the onion and peppers and leave to simmer until the potato wedges are done. 
5. Plate up with chili cheese fries with a layer of sweet potato fries, then some chili and as much tofutti cream cheese as you like and eat!

*until I started eating desert

Posted in: vegan