Slow Cooker Bean & Pea Chilli

With energy prices so high we're all looking for more energy efficient ways to cook. According to uswitch slow cookers are one of the most efficient cooking appliances, using little more energy than a lightbulb. An average-sized slow cooker uses just 1.3 kWh per meal cooked. Although they're traditionally associated with long, slow cooking of meat dishes, they're also perfect for cooking our pulses* from dry.

We always cook fava beans and other pulses in the slow cooker, preferably on a sunny day when the solar panels are producing some or all of our energy. We don’t have to check up on them or worry about leaving the gas hob unattended and the even heat cooks the beans exceptionally well.

This is the simplest possible version of this recipe - you throw in all your ingredients and walk away. However, if I’ve got the time, I brown the onion, carrot and celery in a pan before adding them to the slow cooker. This gives a little more depth of flavour and a pleasing texture. To reduce cooking time by an hour or so, you can also soak the pulses overnight, but this is not essential.

(*Some beans in the Phaseolus family - kidney beans, black beans, haricot and similar - contain lectins that can make you unwell if the beans aren't properly boiled. If you're cooking these beans do make sure your slow cooker has a 10 minute high temperature phase, or soak and boil your beans before adding to the slow cooker.)

Serves 4

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