I’ll start this post with a question. Has anyone ever been to Boojum before? Boojum, most Dublin peeps will know, is possibly the most popular burrito chain in Dublin. I’m not sure if its over in the UK too – it probably is! It is DELISH. Burritos became a massive ‘thing’ in Dublin about 2 or 3 years ago when I was in my final years of college, with 4 or 5 different chains popping up throughout the city centre. I am BIG fan of Boojum Burrito Bowls, although admittedly as I don’t live in town I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve had them! So recently I had a major craving for a burrito bowl, so on another ‘cook dinner for the family’ day this week I decided to try my hand at my own beef chilli recipe, and to use the opportunity to create a burrito bowl recipe for the blog! This recipe is packed full of animal and plant-based protein as well as lots of veggies. I’ve laid out instructions for first, making the chilli, and second, constructing the burrito bowl itself. If you’re not fussed about the second part, just focus on making the chilli and serve either in a bowl on its own or with a serving of wholegrains – I recommend using brown rice or quinoa with this chilli. Hopefully you’ll find it to be as tasty as we did!

Recipe

Ingredients

For the Beef Chilli:

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 garlic cloved, minced
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp mild chilli powder
• 1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 heaped tsp ground cumin
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 2 medium-sized carrots, chopped
• 1/2 small tin of sweetcorn
• 1 small tin of chickpeas or red kidney beans
• 2 x 400ml tins of chopped tomatoes
• 200ml water or beef stock
• 500g lean beef mince
• A pinch of sea salt and black pepper, to season

For the Burrito Bowl:

• 1/4 of a ripe avocado, chopped into chunks
• 1/4 head of iceberg lettuce, roughly chopped, to serve
• 30g feta cheese, crumbled, for topping (you could also use grated cheddar)
• Optional: 1 serving of wholegrain rice or quinoa

Method

Step 1: Make the Chilli 

1. Prepare your veggies and garlic by chopping first, and setting aside in small bowls.
2. Heat the coconut oil in a large pot on medium heat, and add the red onion and garlic first. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the onions are softened.
3. Next, add the beef mince, and cook for another few minutes until browned.
4. Add your spices to the pot, and stir to coat the beef and onions in them. Continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes.
5. Add the chopped peppers, carrots, sweetcorn and chickpeas and stir again.
6. Time to add the liquids! Add the tinned tomatoes and water or stock. Give everything a stir again, and season with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
7. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat all the way down, and leave to simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally so the chilli doesn’t stick the sides of the pot.
8. While your chilli is cooking, if you’re adding a side of rice or quinoa to your bowl, cook according to package intructions.

Step 2: Construct the Burrito Bowl

1. When the chilli is done, turn off the heat. Get a bowl, and add your wholegrain side and shredded iceberg lettuce to it.
2. Add a serving of the chilli to the bowl.
3. Top it all of with chunks of avocado and crumbled feta.
4. Take your fabulous Instagram picture, and tuck in!

Enjoy guys! I ADORE chilli, whether beef, turkey or bean-based, it has to be one of my favourite go-to dinners. I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! Tag me if you try it out – @theirishbalance on Instagram, you know the drill!

Ciara 🙂 x