Chili My Soul

I love chili. Always have. My dad used to make a great turkey chili when we were growing up, full of hearty kidney beans and exuberant spices. And every year, my friend Tawny and I create a new chili for our friend Rob's annual Chili Cook-off (Rob just happens to be an award-winning BBQ-er and makes the best BBQ sauce EVER). Last year, we made the Nothing Butt Pork chili, which was basically shredded slow-roasted pork butt in a sauce consisting of pureed onions and a ton of spices.

However delicious the butt chili was, it's not something you want to eat every day, and I needed something I could eat every day-ish for lunch this week. I decided to use some leftovers and make a light vegetarian chili; light as in more like 20% beans and 80% veg. I love beans, but you know what they say about those little critters.

The start of any good chili: onions & celery

I had some somewhat wrinkly cherry tomatoes leftover from the tabbouleh I made, so I cut those up and mixed with a can of diced tomatoes for moisture. I also threw in some leftover bell peppers to the onions, spices and beans I already had in the pot. Oh, and I used up most of the celery that had been sitting in the produce drawer for over a week now.

Pretty leftover bell peppers and tomatoes.

The result was a thick and hearty but very healthy veggie chili. If you use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock like I do, it's perfectly and happily vegan as well.

Oh, I almost forgot about The Secret Ingredient that really rounds out this chili. My friend Stacy mentioned the other day that she made a chili that contained a couple of teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder. Good tip. The addition added a nice, mole quality to the chili (I also added in a touch of cinnamon for a greater mole effect).

Secret ingredient

Chili at the office never tasted so good!

Vegetarian Chili

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 stalks celery, diced
1 large white onion, chopped
2 bell peppers, whatever color you'd like, chopped
2 cups cherry tomatoes cut in halves
1 8-oz can of diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons mild chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 8-oz can of black beans (or pinto or kidney)
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium heat and add celery and onions. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add bell peppers and cook for about 8 minutes, or until vegetables start to soften. Add in the cherry and canned tomatoes, and cook for about 4 minutes or until the mixture starts to simmer slightly. Add the chili powder, cumin, cinnamon and cocoa powder and stir until dissolved. Add stock and black beans. Cover and turn heat to low; cook for 30-40 minutes. Add salt & pepper to taste.