I don’t cook a lot of chili, perhaps because I associate it with meat. But when my coworker invited me to her Chili Bowl party yesterday, I couldn’t resist.
I was starting at a disadvantage – when you think of chili, the first words that come to mind are probably “meaty” and “spicy”. Mine could be neither, if Nathan and I wanted to eat it. Since it couldn’t compete on traditional grounds, it had to have something else that made it distinctive. I pulled inspiration from a few different cookbooks and went for strong, sweet-savory flavors: roasted garlic and bell peppers, toasted spices, vegetables cooked very very slowly, and a long simmer for the whole concoction. And it worked! My mild vegetarian chili won second place, right after the really spicy full-of-meat chili.
This recipe is a departure from my usual style of cooking. It’s involved, it’s time-consuming, and it’s totally worth it to put in the effort – it pays off directly in flavor. But, I bet it could still be pretty tasty with some simplifications, and that would make it much more reasonable to cook for a normal meal. I’ve tried to indicate some of those shortcuts in the instructions. Anything you can do in advance – especially roasting the garlic and peppers, a day or two before when you have some time – will help. I used dried anasazi beans (a red-and-white heirloom variety) because I saw them in the store and thought they were pretty, but you could use canned pinto beans without losing much. On the flip side, I used canned roasted tomatoes from Muir Glen, for the added flavor, but you could use diced fresh tomatoes, or roast your own.
Red and Orange Roasted Chili
- 1 head plus 3 cloves garlic
- 1 onion
- 1 tb olive oil
- 1/2 tsp whole cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 red or orange bell peppers
- 2 carrots
- 4 oz. mushrooms
- 2 cans diced or crushed tomatoes (preferably roasted)
- 3 cups soaked, drained, and cooked anasazi or pinto beans
- 1 tb paprika
- 2 tb maple syrup (optional)
- 1 tsp cider vinegar (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
- Roast the head of garlic: drizzle it with olive oil, cover with foil, and bake at 350 for about an hour. Stop when it’s soft; you can remove the foil towards the end, but watch for burning. When it’s cool, you have the messy, gooey job of separating the soft garlic from the papery skins. Mash the garlic to a pulp and set it aside. (Simplify: roast the garlic ahead of time, or find it pre-packaged at a store. But really, you should roast it yourself because it will make your house smell delicious.)
- Roast the peppers; place on a foil-covered tray, in a 400+ oven, and turn every few minutes as the tops blacken. When they’re soft and sagging, remove them from the oven and put them in a paper bag or covered bowl for a few minutes. This will gather steam and help remove the skins. When they’re cool, remove the stems, seeds, and skins, and dice the pepper flesh. Set aside. (Simplify: roasting gives the peppers a whole new dimension of flavor, and contributes a lot to the chili, but you could simply dice them and add them in with the other vegetables if you have no time.)
- On a small dry pan, toast cumin and oregano over low heat for a couple minutes, until they smell very good. Crush them in a mortar and pestle, then mince the remaining garlic and mash it together with the spices. (Simplify: I think this step is fun, but you can skip it without too many ill effects.)
- Heat olive oil in a large pan. Mince the onion and cook it very slowly until it’s soft. Add the minced garlic and spices, and cook a few minutes more.
- Finely chop the carrots and mushrooms, add to the onions, and cook slowly until they begin to soften.
- Combine vegetables, roasted garlic and peppers, beans, tomatoes, paprika, maple syrup, and vinegar in a large saucepan or slow cooker. In saucepan, simmer gently for 30 minutes or so; in slow cooker, cook on low for several hours.
