Friday, April 4, 2008

Favorite gluten free/vegan chili

My husband and I love this recipe. Since it's just the two of us, we get several meals out of one pot of this very good chili. I adapted this recipe from www.chooseveg.com.

INGREDIENTS:
3 bell peppers (in whatever colors you want) seeded and diced
1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped (or smashed through a garlic press)
3-4 tablespoons canola oil
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons chili powder
3 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or one 16-ounce can diced tomatoes)
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained (or 1-1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed)

1 small can of tomato paste
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves or fresh parsley (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat up the oil in a heavy 4-quart saucepan over medium heat
2. Add the onion, garlic, oregano, and chili powder, cayenne, coriander, and cumin, and stir frequently until spices become fragrant and garlic and onion start browning
3. Add bell peppers, tomatoes (with juice), corn, beans and tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Add a little water as needed.
4. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, adding water as needed if too much liquid evaporates. Season with salt and black pepper.


Serving suggestions and variations:
- Garnish with cilantro, your favorite version of sour cream or cheese
- Adjust spices to your liking. This version has a little kick to it, but not too much.
- You can use whatever varieties of beans you have in your cupboard. Black beans, white beans, pinto beans, kidney beans. You could use 3 cans of one type, but it's more interesting to have the variety. It's also nice to use 3 different colors of bell pepper, but it's not remotely necessary.
- Serve with tortilla chips or honey polenta (see below)

Optional honey polenta:
- 1 tube of plain corn polenta (it comes in a sausage-like tube with crimped ends), or follow the recipe for corn meal mush on a package of corn meal and add honey
- honey to taste
- water
- pinch of salt

Slit open the tube and place the polenta in a medium saucepan. With clean hands or a wooden spoon, break up the polenta into small pieces and add a little water. Over medium high heat, stir occationally until the polenta bubbles and thickens, adding water as necessary. The grains should become slightly clear. Add pinch of salt and honey to taste.