Lucy's Real Vegetarian Chili
Submitted by Lucy Norris
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| prep time: 1 hour (approx) start to finis | cooking time: 45 minutes | makes 3-4 hungry people or 8 shy fol |
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This chili scarily tastes like it's made with ground beef. I think it's difficult to get good vege chili in NYC. Maybe it's just me. In fact, most recipes I have tasted here resemble a mild flavored vegetable stew and use bell peppers (god forbid!)That's just not chili to me, sorry. This chili has real chili peppers in it, and will fill your kitchen with lovely smells, your mouth full of lovely flavors and textures. It is excellent served with cornbread or tortilla chips as a main dish topped with pickled jalapeno peppers, sour cream, and grated yellow cheddar or Monterey jack cheese.
Caution: use vinyl or plastic gloves while handling fresh chilis or your hands will burn like hell.
This recipe can also be made a day ahead; covered and chilled in the fridge. Time also allows for the flavors to develop even more.
You will not be disappointed. |
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Equipment:
large round cast iron skillet or large soup pot
hand held potato masher or two knives
Ingredients
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped fine
1 carrot or sweet potato, medium, peeled and chopped
1 poblano chili pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1 6 ounce package vegetarian ground beef (Smart Lean original flavor works best)
1 28 oz. can whole organic tomatoes and juice
1 cup or half 15 oz. can, cooked pinto beans, drained
1 cup or half 15 oz. can, cooked black beans, drained
2 Tablespoons Mexican-style dark chili powder
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped fine
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sugar
2 bay leaves
1 small dried chipotle or smoked habanero (optional for wimps)
1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste (add before serving)
Directions
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a deep cast iron skillet or large soup pot. Before it begins to smoke, add onions and saut? until softened, about two minutes. Add the carrot and the poblano chili and saut? another minute. Stir in the vegetarian ground beef and allow to brown for three more minutes.
Add tomatoes and juice. With a potato masher, crush the tomatoes until tomatoes are slightly chunky. Add beans, garlic, chili powder, oregano, cumin, red pepper flakes and stir to incorporate. Add the sugar, bay leaves and dried chili peppers (optional for wimps) and stir. Lower the heat to simmer and cover. Simmer for twenty and thirty minutes, stirring one or twice to prevent it from scorching. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Dish into chili bowls and pass toppings around the table.
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Reviews (add your own)
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| lisa wrote on Wednesday February 04th, 2004 02:30 PM |
 four soybeans |
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this chili was fabulous. I made the wimp version, and accidentally added way too many beans, but I thought it was great. |
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| angela r. wrote on Saturday December 25th, 2004 05:54 PM |
 three soybeans |
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this recipe was great! easy to make and better than canned chili....i found that using 2 whole cans of beans and 12 oz. of ground "beef" instead of half of those amounts was completely fine....i would say it turned out perfect! i wish i hadn't chickened out and made it mild.... |
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| Jenni wrote on Wednesday September 28th, 2005 10:34 PM |
four soybeans |
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This was yummy! Thanks! I made it with the cornbread that's also on the recipe site. I used four cans of beans and no veggie meat, it was great and huge! |
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| lisa wrote on Wednesday November 09th, 2005 03:13 PM |
four soybeans |
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my best friend made this, and honestly, i didn't expect very much from it. but truth be told, this was the best chili i have ever eaten! as a matter of fact, i am planning on making this for some meat-loving family members just to prove how great vegan food can be! this is a fantastic example of vegan cooking at it's finest! |
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| Mark Stosberg wrote on Thursday December 08th, 2005 10:24 PM |
four soybeans |
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Great recipe! We made a double batch using a 12 oz package of "Litelife Smart ground original" and that worked fine.
I even backed up off a little on the hot peppers and snuck in part of a bell pepper... |
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| Lizzy wrote on Friday December 30th, 2005 05:51 PM |
four soybeans |
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Excellent! Like real chili, not vegetable soup! We used half a block of frozen (and then thawed) tofu, instead of "Ground Beef", and it was awesome. |
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| tessa wrote on Thursday March 16th, 2006 11:11 AM |
four soybeans |
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I just ate this for lunch, for the third day in a row, and it just keeps getting better. I used 12 oz. of fake meat instead of 6 oz., and I think it just created more servings. |
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| Vulture wrote on Wednesday May 31st, 2006 06:38 PM |
four soybeans |
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This chili is awesome! I normally don't use any fake meat in my chili, but this tasted really good!! I used a large jalepeno instead of the other peppers and it added just enough heat for my taste. I also added one small can of corn, it added a nice sweetness to the heat.
I will definitely make this one again. |
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| intransigenic wrote on Saturday October 21st, 2006 01:33 PM |
four soybeans |
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How bad did I need this?
The freshmen at college carry all manner of germees and dizeezles at the start of semester. As a result I have developed nasal passage issues that have rendered me akin to a human relative of "slimer" from ghostbusters........
I need those passages cleaning. So its either curry or chilli. But I ain't had a decent chilli for a long time, since I turned veggie to be exact. I mean I have had corporate slime in a plastic microwave tray. I've been faced with various horrible recipes for "chil con queso"........quark in lukewarm psuedo chilli.......you gotta be joking.......after several attempts at finding an adequate replacement, I gave up.........
Until last night. Yeah, I think I've seen the light. I mean its horses for course but chili is the one dish that personally, psychologically, I like to feel a meaty-ish texture. I've put it off for long enough, but I finally decided to give in and use some Quorn.
Black beans and pinto beans are an asspain to find in the UK, so I replaced them with kidney beans and black eyed beans. I used Halepeno rather than Poblano cos you can't find Poblanos in the UK. Likewise, I've seen one dried Chipostle in the last five years and that was in Ireland, so this mutha was gonna be hardcore........
And it was. And it was spot on. Both in heat. And in texture. It cleared out my nose yesterday. But I'm snotted up again now which is why I'm about to have a second portion.
I can't believe its seven years since I had a decent chilli. mmmmm this is good! |
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| lucy wrote on Monday January 15th, 2007 07:59 PM |
four soybeans |
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this chili is marvelous. I added 1/4 chopped cilantro and 2 Tablespoons Black Strap Mollases. Sooooo good. And once I added barley and made it with a combination of other beans too. Delicious, 5 Soybeans!!! |
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