A chili that comes almost entirely from jars, bottles and cans, but tastes awesome.
This chili recipe has been idling in my email drafts folder for sometime now (a year at least). It has become one of my go-to winter recipes. This is the dish I cook upon returning home from traveling, when I’m craving detox food, but have nothing in the fridge. Everything you need to make this dish can be found at your bare-bones grocer. In fact, you can probably find some reasonable approximation at your local dep. And if you *do* have things idling in your fridge, it’s a great way to use those up too. As long as you have some semblance of spice, garlic, onions, tomatoes, and beer (that’s right, beer is the secret to kick-ass veggie chili), you can twiddle the other ingredients however you like, and still end up with a hearty, flavourful hot bowl of goo.
Ingredients:
(This looks like a long list, but most of these come in bottles or cans, so the prep is pretty minimal):
- 2 onions – chopped
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- 2 jalepeno (seeds in or out) – finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic – minced
- 2 zucchinis – quartered and chopped into 1/2 inch chunks
- 1 green pepper – chopped into 1/2 inch chunks
- 1 bottle dark-(ish) beer
- 1 can corn – rinsed and drained
- 2 small, or one large cans chopped tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp chili mix/ chili powder (individual taco seasoning packs work, or you can buy it in bulk)
- cinammon, cumin, cayenne, salt etc. to taste (my chili powder is quite hot, so I use it sparingly, and supplement it with a bit of extra cumin and paprika)
- 1.5 cans beans (pretty much any beans will do here, I’ve used mixed beans, black beans, pinto beans, refried beans, chick peas, and even baked beans in a pinch) — Make sure to rinse and drain them though, if they’re the sort that need rinsing and draining
- 1-2 tbsp balsamic.
- Optional: Yogurt/sour cream, cheese, or cilantro to serve
Preparation:
- First chop all the veggies (this is the most time consuming step).
- Put a bit of oil in a put and when it is hot, add onions and celery. Saute stirring regularly until onions are beginning to brown.
- Add jalepenos and garlic. Cook stirring until fragrant, about 1 min (the “fragrance” will be hard to miss — and may make your eyes water).
- Lower the head a bit and add green pepper and zucchini. Cook covered, stirring occasionally, until peppers and zucchini have begun to soften (I usually give it 10 -15 min).
- Add the beer, and bring to a boil (uncovered). Let boil until the beer has decreased by half volume-wise, and the steam no longer smells boozy.
- Add tomatoes (and their juices) and chili powder and any other spices, and let simmer.
- Once the zucchini and pepper are almost cooked, add the drained, rinsed beans and corn, and cook for another 5-10 minutes (until heated through)
- Lastly (trust me on this one) remove from the heat and add 1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (crazy, I know, but the zing of the vinegar is just what the chili needs to brighten the flavor and counteract the “umaminess” of the beer based broth).
This recipe makes a big batch (probably serves about 8), but I never have any difficulty getting through the leftovers.