I've been totally infatuated this winter. The object of my devotion begins with "ch" and ends with "illi". Most of the chilli dishes I've made and devoured have been the usual beef or chicken variety. One of my sons is meat-phobic... I mean doesn't like to chew... I mean is semi-vegetarian (what ever that means)... I mean is picky about what form his protein takes... BUT, he will eat chilli made with ground beef or chicken so I take the opportunity to "get some meat into him" when I can. However, this is a vegetarian chilli which we all love, even my other son who is a total carnivore (see how hard my life is?) But the best part of any chilli has to be the toppings, right? Cheese, sour cream, fried tortillas... I'd eat them for dinner without the chilli. I wonder what it means when you eat more toppings than chilli. I’m sure the answer will come to me tomorrow, when I'm lying on the floor trying to do up my jeans.
Two Bean Chilli
from Bill Granger's Easy
Serves 4
For the Chilli:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium carrot, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 sticks celery, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 chipotle chilli in adobo sauce (or 1 tablespoon of tomato paste and 1/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
250ml vegetable stock
2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes
1 x 400g can black beans (or kidney beans)
1 x 400g can pinto beans (or Mexe-beans)
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
For the Toppings:
Grated cheese (I used cheddar)
Sour cream sprinkled with smoked paprika
Shards of crispy fried corn tortillas
Hot sauce
Salsa
Put the carrot, onion, celery and garlic in a food processor and blitz until it is finely chopped.
Pour the olive oil in a large casserole dish and put it on a low heat. Add the blitzed vegetables and cook until they are soft but no brown, about 10 minutes. Add the chipotle chilli in adobo sauce, spiced and stock and cook for 1 minutes more. Add the tomatoes sugar, cocoa and beans, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for a further 15 minutes.
Serve with crispy tortillas, sour cream, grated cheese, hot sauce and Corn and Avocado Salsa.
My mum has her recipe of chili that she do all the time. Yours is really different and I'll try to do it..if she let me ;) Yep, the toppings are always the best, cheese, sour cream, avocado...god I love those mexican things :)
ReplyDeleteI so completely understand, every single word.. My girls are twins, will be 11 in just a few days. One of them is VERY meat suspicious, has a lot to do with the chewing too. The other is just like her Daddy, will eat any form of meat, and rip it right off the bone while doing so...sheesh...can you picture that?
ReplyDeleteThere is also a 50, yes, I said 50 pound difference between the two of them! TWINS! And the little one is the older one, lol! One thing I have found that works with her is to grind the meat, in a food processor, put a little bit of sauce of some sort on it, and she's good to go:) The chili looks very tasty, but I want to know how you made that corn salsa! Is that avocado I see?? I want some right now, for breakfast!
Now you're talking - nothing like a good bowl of chili and some crusty bread on the side. Of course a bit of fat like sour cream isn't too bad either.
ReplyDeleteHey Patty. I think I use chilli as an excuse to eat sour cream :) A bowl of chilli is one of the most comforting meals and I'm totally with you on the crusty bread thing!
ReplyDeleteHey Gabrielle, you had better get your Mums blessing before making this. hehe. The toppings are definitely the business though. They're worth making any sort of chilli for :)
ReplyDeleteOh I hear ya Leah. My youngest can strip a rib like a cave man, put a bone near my oldest and he heads for the hills. lol I can't believe your twin girls are so different, I thought twins were meant to have some sort of connection? haha Perhaps it's just their palates that don't see taste bud to taste bud. I agree, ground meat has saved my sanity.
ReplyDelete...and that corn salsa, I'm all over it :)
Heeheee, they are sooo different, if I had not labored with them, and experienced the 57 minute delay between their births, someone might convince me they had different parents! My husband tells people all the time are twins, but they have 2 different mothers...wait for it...wait for it...yeah, I know...hardy, har har.. ;)
ReplyDelete