Chili sin Carne (vegetarian chili)
A meatless chili built on two kinds of beans and a properly toasted spice base rather than leaning on a shop-bought chili powder blend for all the flavour. Toasting the cumin and chilli powder briefly in the pan before any liquid goes in wakes up flavours a straight simmer never reaches.
Christoph's meatless chili, the spices toasted properly in the dry pan before any liquid goes in, rather than relying on a shop-bought blend for all the flavour.
Ingredients
Written for a 4 L pot
Chili
- 150 g onion, finely chopped rounded
- 150 g red bell pepper, diced rounded
- 2 garlic cloves rounded
- 30 ml neutral oil rounded
- 15 g chilli powder rounded
- 8 g ground cumin rounded
- 5 g smoked paprika rounded
- 400 g chopped tomatoes rounded
- 400 g kidney beans, tinned, drained rounded
- 400 g black beans, tinned, drained rounded
- 200 ml vegetable broth rounded
- 15 g dark chocolate, 70% or higher, rounds out the flavour (optional) rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
- 15 g fresh coriander, for the top (optional) rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sweat the onion, pepper and garlic for 5 minutes, until softened.
- Push the vegetables to one side, add the chilli powder, cumin and smoked paprika to the cleared space, and toast for 30 seconds, stirring, before mixing everything together; this brief dry toast wakes the spices up in a way a straight simmer cannot.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, both beans and the broth. Bring to a simmer and cook 30 minutes, until thickened and the vegetables are fully tender.
- Stir in the chocolate, if using, until melted. Season with salt. Scatter with coriander before serving.
Method in the Thermomix
Written for a TM5 or TM6, 2.2 litre bowl. This covers the sauce; toasting the spices still benefits from a proper dry pan first, though it can be done in the bowl if preferred.
- Onion, pepper and garlic into the dry bowl. Chop 3 sec / speed 5. Add the oil. Sauté 5 min / 100°C / speed 1, measuring cup off.
- Add the chilli powder, cumin and smoked paprika. Sauté 30 sec / 100°C / speed 1.
- Add the tomatoes, both beans and the broth. Cook 30 min / 100°C / reverse / speed 1, simmering basket on the lid.
- Add the chocolate, if using. Mix 10 sec / reverse / speed 1, until melted. Season with salt.
Notes
- Toast the spices briefly in the dry pan before adding any liquid. This single step is what separates a chili that tastes rounded and developed from one that tastes merely of raw spice dust; do not skip it even when in a hurry.
- A small amount of dark chocolate is a genuine, if unexpected, improvement, rounding out the bitterness of the chilli and cocoa notes without making the dish taste sweet.
- Two kinds of beans give more textural variety than one. Kidney beans hold their shape firmly, black beans are slightly softer; the contrast is worth keeping.
- It keeps for 5 days in the fridge and freezes very well, often tasting better on the second or third day.
Ingredient substitutions
- Kidney and black beans can be any combination of tinned beans you have; pinto beans are a good addition or substitute.
- Chilli powder varies enormously by brand and blend; start with less if unsure of the heat and add more to taste.
- Vegetable broth can be replaced with beer for a deeper, slightly bitter flavour, which is a common variation.
From Christoph Mayer