Chili, Vegetarian: Variant One

Vegetarian Chili – Variant One

Unlike my chili red (real chili), this vegetarian chili has both beans and tomatoes.  It is a healthy and tasty vegetarian option, and pretty easy to throw together in the morning and eat in the evening.

RECIPE:

½ Cup Dried Black Beans

½ Cup Dried Red Beans

½ Cup Dried Navy Beans

(Note:  You can vary the type and quantity of beans you use to the extent of your imagination.  Use the ones you like the most.  I like these because they’re red, white, and black and pretty in the bowl – also they’re all smaller beans, which I like.)

Dried chilis: 6 anchos, 2 pasilla, 4 guajillos, 4 chiles de arbol.  More variety makes better chili, but you can use whatever is available locally, and feel free to use additional chiles, including hotter ones.  None of the chiles here are remotely close to being as hot as a scotch bonnet or habanero.

1 large onion, chopped coarsely

3 cloves of garlic, sliced thin

Freshly chopped cilantro (separate leaves and stems)

1 large red sweet bell pepper

1-3 other fresh peppers, like Anaheim, Poblano, Bell, Cherry bomb, etc.

24-38 ounces of crushed tomatoes

1 cup of strong coffee

½  bottle of dark ale, beer, etc.  (I prefer dark, like Dixie Voodoo Blackened Lager, or Dos Equis)

2-4 cups of vegetable broth

Olive oil or butter

1 tbl hot paprika

2 tbl sweet paprika

1 tbl cayenne

2 tbls cumin

4 tlbs Black pepper

Salt to taste

 

Method:

Soak the dried beans from 2-10 hours.  If you soak them overnight, skip the next step.  If you only soak them for 2 hours or so, then add the washed soaked beans and the vegetable broth to the crock pot and cook on high for 2 hours.  Then continue.

Roast the dried chiles (anchos, pasillas, guajillos and chiles de arbol) in a dry skillet on medium for 3-4 minutes on each side.  Remove from heat and then add them to a bowl of boiling water:  let rest 30 minutes.

Saute onions, garlic, and cilantro stems in olive oil or butter until translucent and caramelizing, still in the skillet.  Deglaze with the beer and the coffee.

Pour the water off the chiles and save it.  I tend to add this in place of water when the chili needs more moisture.  This is controversial.  The best middling recommendation I’ve seen on this says to taste the chile water and if it isn’t too bitter for you, use it as a substitution in stuff you are cooking.  I do the same thing in my adobo sauce.

Add the drained chiles to the blender, and then add broth until it purees nice and smooth.  Add to pot, stir.  Add the freshly chopped peppers, the sautéed onions, garlic, and beer/coffee broth.  Add the crushed tomatoes.  Add the dry spices.  Stir until combined.   Cook in the crockpot on low for 6-8 hours.

Serve with a garnish of the fresh chopped cilantro leaves.

Beef & Squash Stew

What?  Winter squash in a beef stew?  Really?

Yah, really.

This stew is almost a chili derivative, but we use larger chunks of meat and squash than you’ll see in most chili.  It’s a great way to make an easy dish that incorporates an orange vegetable, one of those things we never seem to eat enough of, and it’s a great way to highlight what is *good* about Winter squash.

We use a butternut squash for this.

Stew Ingredients:

4 fresh ancho peppers, sauteed

1 medium onion, chopped and sauteed

5 tablespoons Lard, bacon is a decent substitute

1 lb of Stew Beef.

1 – 1.5 lbs of Butternut squash, cubed into 1 inch cubes

Salt, pepper

4-6 garlic cloves, minced or crushed

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons cumin seeds, ground

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 14 ounce can of roasted diced tomatoes

1/2  bottle  dark beer

1 4-ounce can of roasted green chilis

1/2 cup of fresh cilantro stems, chopped

Preparation:

Saute the garlic, peppers, and the onions in the lard (or bacon fat) at low temperature for 8-10 minutes.

Salt and pepper the stew beef, then brown 1/2 the stew beef.

Add the beef, the onions & garlic, and the squash to the crock pot.

Add the beer, tomatoes, and green chilis

Add the rest of the ingredients.

Cover the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours.

notes:  You can puree the ancho peppers with the garlic and herbs, add a little vegetable broth to get it enough wetness to puree.

When the stew is ready, check the thickness of the liquid.  If it’s too soupy, add a large spoonful of white corn meal and stir for 1 minute.  Repeat as necessary until it starts to thicken up, but know that it will get thicker over time as the corn meal absorbs the liquid.

Serve and eat.  We served ours over rice.

Chili Red

Oh there are soooo many kinds of chili.  My first chili recipe was based on a dish in a novel.  Later, I got to sample chili that other people made, many of which were much better than my first attempt.  There was a guy who worked in the meat department at Savenor’s Market in Cambridge, MA who gave me a great lecture one day on chili-making and it is from the notes I took that day that the current version of this recipe was born.  It has changed and mutated over the years as I have learned more about chili and chiles.

This is a great recipe to make a lot of, then freeze it in quantities for one meal and just warm it in a pot when you want to eat it (no need to defrost first).

You may notice that there are no beans in this recipe, and no tomato.  Both of these can be controversial amongst chili makers, one of those endless debates like Eastern NC barbeque.  I consider it to be a mark of purity (nods self-righteously).  The best hot dog chili I know of also doesn’t have any tomato in it.  It’s perfectly fine to cook a pot of beans, and then ladle chili over beans on a plate, but don’t cook beans into perfectly good chili.  Tomato in chili can give people heartburn, and I was told (apocryphally, perhaps) that chili with no tomato doesn’t cause heartburn.  I can however, quote good authority that there are no beans in chili, just check out the International Chili Society.

RECIPE:

4 pounds of chuck roast, cut into 1/2  inch cubes.  If you really don’t like chuck roast, use what they call a “flat iron steak”, or some other cut you prefer, but don’t use a very lean cut.  Also, no need to be anal about the 1/2 inch cubes.  Less than 1/4 inch is too small.  One inch is too large.  Aim for in the middle.

Dried chilis: 6 anchos, 2 pasilla, 4 guajillos, 4 chiles de arbol.  More variety makes better chili, but you can use whatever is available locally, and feel free to use additional chiles, including hotter ones.  None of the chiles here are remotely close to being as hot as a scotch bonnet or habanero.

2 chipotles in adobo (from a jar)
6 ounces of raw bacon, mostly for the bacon grease.  Chop the bacon fine, then cook it down.
1 large onion, diced fine

6 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
1 cup of strong coffee
1 bottle of dark ale, beer, etc.  (I prefer dark, like Dixie Voodoo Blackened Lager, or Dos Equis)
2 cups of water

1 tbl hot paprika
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground clove
1 tsp allspice
1 tbl ground coriander
1 tbl cayenne
2 tbls cumin

Salt to taste

4 tlbs Black pepper (estimated, at least this much)

1/2 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth
¼ cup masa harina or finely ground white corn meal

1 ounce dark cooking chocolate (don’t use unsweetened)

1 green pepper, 1 onion, Extra grated cheese

Method:

Roast the dried chiles (anchos, pasillas, guajillos and chiles de arbol) in a dry skillet on medium for 3-4 minutes on each side.  Remove from heat and then add them to a bowl of boiling water:  let rest 30 minutes.

Cubed Beef

Cook the bacon in the skillet.  Remove the bacon, leave the grease.  Sear one quarter of the beef in a flat layer in the bacon grease on high heat in the skillet.  Remove and set aside.  If you don’t have enough bacon grease, add some lard.  Do not brown the rest of the meat.  You only need some of it to give you the flavor you want, and the rest is tenderer if you don’t brown it.  This may also be debatable, but two of the people who have made the best chili I’ve ever had recommend that you do not brown chili meat, and my father reminded me of this on the phone yesterday when we were talking.

Saute onions and garlic until translucent and caramelizing, still in the skillet.

Add the beef, onions & garlic and any leftover grease, bacon, ale, coffee, and the spices to a large heavy pot.  Turn the heat up to high.
Pour the water off the chiles and save it.  I tend to add this in place of water when the chili needs more moisture.  This is controversial.  The best middling recommendation I’ve seen on this says to taste the chile water and if it isn’t too bitter for you, use it as a substitution in stuff you are cooking.  I do the same thing in my adobo sauce.

Peppers soaking

Side dishes

Add the drained chiles to the blender, and then add broth until it purees nice and smooth.  Add to pot, stir.  Add 2 cups water.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for three to five hours, stirring occasionally. Add more spices to taste, and add more plain water as necessary to maintain a thick consistency (don’t let it dry out).

When finished, add the grated hot chocolate to the chili, and stir.  Then mix 1 cup of chicken broth with the masa harina, and stir into pot.  Let thicken, then remove from heat to rest.

Serve in bowls with sides of sautéed onions, sautéed green peppers, and grated cheese as condiments, along with corn chips, rice, or beans as sides (or just ladle it on top).

Bowl o' Chili

Chili over Corn Chips