Tuesday, June 17, 2008
It used to be just hearing the words ‘Vegetarian Chili’ would give me the heebie jeebies. Chili needs meat, it is all about the meat and the chillies! Well, I still dislike the name even though a dish with lots of dried and/or fresh chillies, spices, beans and vegetables can be very good. It’s just not Chili! That is why I am calling this ‘Chili con Frijoles’. It describes exactly what this is, beans with chillies.
The recipe I used here is a combo of two recipes from Mark Bittman’s “How To Cook Everything Vegetarian“. One includes black beans, chocolate and coffee, the other is a more straightforward mix of beans and chili powder with onions and garlic. I loved the idea of making a deep dark and rich ‘chili’so I used a good homemade chili powder, lots of onions, garlic, Mexican chocolate, canned tomatoes and a few spoons of dark brown sugar to offset the acidity and the bitterness.
I brought the brew to a simmer in the Colombian clay pot with three different types of beans (black, red and pinto). I then put the pot in a low 230 F oven for a few hours and went to sleep. After resting on the counter all day, I just reheated it for dinner and served it with lots of garnished. I will certainly be making this again, it was utterly delicious garnished with sour cream, cilantro, avocado, farmers cheese, onions, scallions and a squeeze of lime juice. Maybe I’ll make some corn bread to go with it next time.
