Jamie Oliver’s Food Tube: Kerryann Dunlop’s Chilli Con Veggie recipe

The 30-year-old mum-of-two was one of Jamie Oliver’s original 15 apprentices, both pictured.

Now, she’s just written her first cookbook, thanks to her popularity on Jamie’s Food Tube, the cooking YouTube channel Oliver launched last year.

The Family Cook Book is chock full of delicious and simple recipes to make for and with kids, and Dunlop says her secret weapon is what she calls the ‘batch’ cook – making loads of something to freeze, saving time later.

Her versatile Hidden Vegetable Pasta Sauce is a great example.

One big batch can be used for pasta dishes, pizza sauce, with meatballs, in chilli or lasagne, and even to make soup.

“You can eat really well on a strict budget, that’s the idea I want to share with everyone,” Dunlop assures. “I’m not rich, I’ve got a day job [she’s a cook at a Montessori nursery] and two young children [her daughter’s seven and son is nine] and I make my own ready meals, I don’t buy them.

“I cook loads of stuff at the weekend, chuck it all in the freezer, then when I come home after work, I pop something in the oven and you’ve got a really good dinner for pennies – and I know what’s in it.”

Dunlop learned from her own mum the importance of cooking ‘proper’ meals for her children: “She was a single mum, she never had a husband bringing in loads of money and it was always on a budget.

“But she made sure that we ate well as children, we never had any of that processed stuff, it was always good food, cooked from scratch.

Here’s a recipe from Dunlop’s new book:

CHILLI CON VEGGIE (Serves 10)

- 2 medium onions, peeled

- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled

- 1 medium leek, trimmed

- 1 long fresh red chilli

- 2tbsp olive oil

- 2tbsp ground cumin

- 2tbsp ground coriander

- 2tbsp smoked paprika

- 1/2 a cinnamon stick or 1tsp of ground cinnamon

- 2tbsp dried oregano

- 1 whole nutmeg, for grating

- 2tbsp tomato puree

- 250g dried green lentils

- 250g dried red lentils

- 2 x 400g tins of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

- 2 x 400g tins of black beans, drained and rinsed

- 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes

- 1.2 litres organic vegetable stock

- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Finely chop the onions, garlic, leek and chilli (I leave the seeds in, but deseed if you prefer) and place into your largest, heavy-based pan over a medium heat with the oil. Fry for about five minutes, or until softened.

Add the spices, dried herbs and a good grating of nutmeg, then fry for two minutes – if it’s a little dry at this point, simply add a splash of water to help it out.

Stir in the tomato puree and cook for a further two minutes. Stir in the lentils, beans and chopped tomatoes, then add the stock (I try to use homemade stock, but if you’ve only got stock cubes, that’s fine too). Bring it all to the boil, then reduce to a low heat and let it bubble away for at least one hour, or until thickened and reduced, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes, then season to how you like it.

I like this with rice or on a jacket potato, scattered with coriander leaves and with lime wedges and a dollop of soured cream on the side.