Vegan Chili

I’ve never made chili from scratch before, but this is phenomenal. Spicy and deeply flavorful, I served it to a crowd of omnivores and got rave reviews.

I have borrowed heavily from Crescent Dragonwagon’s recipe for Neo-Traditional Red Chili, and modified it for my allergy needs. If you like this recipe, go buy her book, Passionate Vegetarian. It is a huge and heavy tome for a pittance.

The recipes in PV are not all vegan, and not allergy-friendly (lots of soy, dairy, and corn), but many are very easy to modify and make in a way that suits your needs.

I’ll list all the spices and things you’ll need in one spot at the end!

Begin by preheating your oven to 450 degrees.  Then, quarter 5 tomatoes, lay them in a baking dish, and anoint them with olive oil.  When the oven is up to temperature, put them in for 25 – 30 minutes.

Soak three dried shittake mushrooms in a little filtered water. Put them aside while they do their thing. (aka: rehydrate!)

Dice an onion.  The easy-peasy short-cut way is shown here:  cut the tip off and peel the onion.  Make cuts in a grid shape that stop just short of cutting through the onion.

 

Then, turn it on its side, and slice – voila!  Diced onion, no tears. Now practice again on another onion!

To dice a green pepper, slice the top off by moving your knife in a circle around the stem.

Now, pull out the seed core with your fingers and rinse it to get any loose seeds out. Cut the pepper into lengthwise strips, then cut those strips crosswise until the whole thing is diced. And repeat! You’ll need two peppers for this chili.

Your tomatoes are probably done by now, so pull them out of the oven if you haven’t already. They are done if they a little blackened and very squishy. Put them aside somewhere safe to cool. I added a little water to the pan while it was still hot to get some of the roasty goodness off of the bottom, and let it remain in the pan while the tomatoes cooled.

Here I have a pound of black beans that I previously soaked. There are a few ways to prepare dried beans for cooking. One is to simply soak them overnight, and drain and rinse them when you are ready to use them. A slightly faster way is to bring them to a boil, let them cook for 3 minutes, turn off the heat, cover the pan and let it sit for 2-4 hours. Then, drain and rinse the beans. The fastest way is in a pressure cooker. Place the beans and plenty of water in the cooker, bring it to high pressure for about a minute, and then take it off the heat and let the pressure come down naturally before opening the lid. Drain and rinse, and you’re ready to party!

Either of the quick-soak methods supposedly cut down on the gas factor. I’ve also heard of people who don’t bother soaking their beans at all. You decide!

Anyway, add to the beans some chili peppers (here I have a red chili, a jalapeno, and a habenero pepper). Adjust the number and type according to your love of fire. I like HOT things, so this was about right.

Also, throw in a bay leaf or two, and lots and lots of freshly ground black pepper. I didn’t feel like grinding the pepper grinder over the pot for a year, so I threw a handful of peppercorns into my (cleaned) coffee grinder. Much faster!

Lastly, place your shittakes and their soaking liquid in with tender loving care. Or any way you choose.

Add enough water to cover the beans by about an inch and a half, and add two cubes of vegan bouillon. I used Rapunzel brand’s Vegetable and Sea Salt version – it’s one of the few I can find that doesn’t have any soy oil in it! Bring the pot to a boil over medium heat, then cover it, and turn it down to simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

While the beans are cooking, it’s time to concoct your spice mix. Crescent Dragonwagon’s recipe calls for Hungarian paprika, and I was excited to find it at my local natural food store in the bulk herb section. The difference between Hungarian paprika and the stuff that’s been hiding on your spice shelf for years is amazing! The Hungarian paprika is the vivid orange one, and has a slightly sweet flavor to it.

The spices! In this bowl is a combination of: 1 tbs cumin seed, 1 tbs chili powder, 2 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp ground coriander, 2 tsp Hungarian paprika, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp cayenne, and a dusting of cinnamon.

Chop the roasted tomatoes. Try not to eat any, even though they are yummy!

When your beans are very close to being done, heat a generous splash of olive oil over medium heat in a big pot. Okay, maybe not the THE biggest pot you own, if you are into collecting really big pots. If you can sit in it, it’s probably overkill. But at least big enough to put your head in. All of it. Go!

Saute the onions until they begin to look translucent and become slightly soft.

Add the green peppers and cook for another few minutes until they start to soften. After that, add the spices and stir for two minutes. Add a few cloves of minced or pressed garlic, and stir it a few times more.

Pour the veggies and spices into your bean pot.

Deglaze the pan (that means add a little water, let it simmer for a few seconds, swish it around, and get all of the spicy goodness off of the bottom of the pan) and dump the deglazing liquid into the beans.

This is adzuki bean miso. It is soy-free, unlike traditional miso, which is all soy! It will add a nice, smoky, sweet depth of flavor to the dish.

Add 1 – 2 tbsp of miso by first diluting it in a ladle full of chili juice. When it has dissolved into the ladle, swirl it into the pot.

Add in all of the roasted tomatoes, too.

Add a tablespoon of honey, or agave nectar if you are strictly vegan. Find your favorite tongue-searing hot sauce, and add a tablespoon or two of that. Adjust the salt to your liking (the bouillon supplied quite a bit, but you may want more).

My pot was just big enough! Whew! Simmer for about 30 minutes more.

Just before you serve it, pick out the bay leaves, the pepper stems, and the shittake mushrooms. Discard the pepper stems and bay leaves, but mince the shittake caps and stir them back into the chili. You may mush up or puree some of the beans to thicken the chili, if you’d like. I ended up adding some refritos to the mix. Also, if it’s too watery, you can serve it with a slotted spoon! No matter what you do, I can pretty much guarantee it will be awesome.

Serve it up alone or with your favorite allergen-free chili accompaniments. I like mine with brown rice and cilantro. (It’s also surprisingly good with potato chips!)

Happy eating!

And the condensed ingredient list:

5 large ripe tomatoes, quartered
1 pound of dried beans (black, pinto, or any other you like)
Fresh filtered water
1-2 bay leaves
3 dried shittake mushrooms
2-3 chili peppers (red, green, jalapeno, habenero, you choose!)
Black pepper
2 bouillon cubes or 2 1/2 quarts vegetable stock (substitute for water in that step)
olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 cloves of garlic
1 to 2 tbsp hot sauce
1 to 2 tbsp adzuki bean miso
sea salt
1 tbsp honey or agave nectar