Easy Vegetable Chili |
Not only is this chili easy to make, it is also delicious. The mild dried chiles add interesting flavor, along with a nice bit of heat. Only add the jalapeño if you’re a heat seeker.
Vegan friendly. Serves 4
Ingredients
- Medium to large (31⁄2 to 5 quart) slow cooker
- 1 (15 mL) tbsp oil
- 2 onions, chopped
- 4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp (10 mL) ground cumin (see tips)
- 2 tsp (10 mL) dried oregano, crumbled
- 1 tsp (5 mL) salt
- 1 can (14 oz/398 mL) diced tomatoes with juice
- 2 cups (500 mL) cooked dried or canned red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 dried New Mexico, ancho or guajillo chile peppers
- 2 cups (500 mL) boiling water
- 1 cup (250 mL) coarsely chopped cilantro, leaves and stems
- 1 cup (250 mL) vegetable broth, tomato juice or water
- 1 jalapeño pepper, coarsely chopped, optional
- 2 cups (500 mL) corn kernels
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
Directions
1. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and celery and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, oregano and salt and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice and bring to a boil. Transfer to slow cooker stoneware.
2. Add beans and stir well. Cover and cook on Low for 6 hours or on High for 3 hours, until hot and bubbly.
3. About an hour before the recipe is finished cooking, in a heatproof bowl, soak dried chiles in boiling water for 30 minutes, weighing down with a cup to ensure they remain submerged. Drain and discard soaking liquid. Discard stems and chop peppers coarsely. Transfer to a blender. Add cilantro, broth, and jalapeño, if using. Purée.
4. Add chile mixture to stoneware and stir well. Add corn and bell pepper and stir well. Cover and cook on High for 20 minutes, until pepper is tender and mixture is hot and bubbly.
Tips
For the best flavor, toast cumin seeds and grind them yourself. To toast seeds: Place in a dry skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring, until fragrant about 3 minutes. Immediately transfer to a spice grinder or mortar and grind finely.
For this quantity of beans, use 1 can (14 to 19 oz/398 to 540 mL) drained and rinsed, or cook 1 cup (250 mL) dried beans. If you are halving this recipe, be sure to use a small (11⁄2 to 31⁄2 quart) slow cooker.
Make Ahead
Complete Steps 1 and 3. Cover and refrigerate tomato and chile mixtures separately for up to 2 days, being aware that the chile mixture will lose some of its vibrancy if held for this long. (For best results, rehydrate the chiles while the dish is cooking or no sooner than the night before you plan to cook.) When you’re ready to cook, complete the recipe.
Printed with permission from The Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Judith Finlayson published by Robert Rose Inc 2010.
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Ruth | January 21, 2011 at 9:09 am - §
Do any of your recipes include the Nutrition value, i.e. calories/sodium content?Easy Vegetable Chili was the recipe I am interested in currently.Thank you.