I used to take it as dogma that chili, real chili, must contain beef—cubes of beef, not ground beef—and only beef: no beans, no chicken, no nuthin’. The very idea of vegetarian chili was ludicrous (and don’t get me started on that Cincinnati stuff that they serve on spaghetti). Indeed, this is the kind of chili that’s prepared on the competitive chili circuit. This, I believed, was the authentic chili.
But then I got to thinking: One, I really needed to lighten up. Two, a combination of beef and beans (or chicken and beans, or beans by themselves) in a tomato-y spicy broth is a fantastic meal, whatever it’s called. Three, I happen to write a blog called The Militant Carnivore Cooks for his Vegetarian Wife, so I should probably be open to the idea of less meat-centric chilis.
The final straw was an article in a recent Cook’s Illustrated that discussed that “authentic” chili that is prepared on the competitive chili circuit. In addition to being bean-free, that chili may not contain any visible traces of tomato or onion. It consists of nothing more than beef and heaps and heaps of ground spice, added in layer after layer over several hours of stewing.
Eew.
So, I’m a convert. I’m a born-again chili-head. Beef, beans, chicken, turkey, mushrooms—whatever you want to use in your chili is fine by me. (Well, OK, I draw the line at TVP. Again, eew.) The only ingredient that should be common to all chilis, in my opinion, is some form of chile. (Call me crazy.)
So it was that I decided to turn a batch of pinto beans into an all-bean, vegan chili. The recipe is very similar to the Soupy Lentils from last week, but the spices give it a very different flavor profile. I was out of dried chiles and couldn’t find chipotles en adobo at the supermarket, so I turned to the one smoked chile that I always have on hand: pimenton. It worked like a charm. I couldn’t decide how to cut the onions for the chili (did I want big chunks? thin slices?); being lazy, I went for the path of least possible work and tossed the onion in the food processor and pulsed it into a coarse puree. A fortuitous and felicitous phenomenon resulted: The tiny pieces of onion in the finished chili gave it a coarse texture that resembled that of ground beef. Voila! Vegan chili with beefy, hearty texture, and no TVP in sight.
- 1 large onion, peeled, cut into rough 2-inch chunks
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1 t cumin seeds
- 1 T dried Mexican oregano
- 2 T pimenton (Spanish smoked paprika)
- 1 28-oz. can of tomatoes
- 1 12-0z. can of PBR (or another appropriately cheap and hipster-worthy beer)
- 4 c cooked or canned pinto beans
Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Toss the onion and garlic into the food processor. Keeping your face well back, pulse until the onion is coarsely pureed. Add to the Dutch oven with a generous pinch of salt and saute over medium heat until soft and translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile, pound the cumin seeds and oregano in a mortar and pestle until roughly ground; add to the onion mixture along with the pimenton and cook for about 2 minutes.
Drain the liquid from the can of tomatoes into a bowl; reserve. Using scisscors, roughly chop the tomatoes inside the can, then stir into the onion mixture. Turn the heat up to medium and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. Add the tomato juice and beer, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until most of the alcohol has evaporated off. Stir in the beans. Add water to cover and stir to combine. Simmer until the mixture comes together, about 10-20 minutes. Taste for seasoning and spice; if desired, add a few dashes of hot sauce or cayenne pepper. Serve with grated cotija or Monterey Jack and/or a dollop of sour cream and any other garnishes you wish (particularly chopped green onions). Definitely add some cornbread on the side.
Sounds good, but I do want to add some beef to any I’d try to make. Mom
Wayne, it’s not that this doesn’t sound delicious, and you know I remain devoted to the black bean chili you and Chris used to make at the farmhouse. But I just have to defend cincinnati chili a little bit! It’s good on hot dogs!
Kevin & I use both beef and beans in our chili. I’ll have to try ours with the pimenton that I have in my pantry (courtesy of Wayne. )
FYI, I made a minestrone this evening (with pancetta) and I took your advice and used a can of whole tomatoes chopped myself, instead of the crushed tomatoes that the recipe called for. Great tip!
The Militant Carnivore is all about beef in chili, as well as chili on hot dogs. But chili on spaghetti will always sound disgusting to me.
Many thanks to my mother-in-law for reminding me that I once knew how to spell the word “coarse”!
I make a great vegetarian chili that includes both black beans (that I soak in a mixture of secret spicy seasonings to soften first) and grated carrots. Lots and lots of grated carrots. I find they sweeten the chili nicely and create that thick meaty texture I want. This way I can still have my chopped onions doing onion work. And Wayne, I love this blog!