Some thoughts about chili, and two recipes of sorts, too. 15 March 2007 1:23 pm
Posted by Tracy in : cooking,eating,friends,people,pictures,recipes,vegan,vegetarian , trackbackLadies and gentlemen of the InterWeb, I am not from Texas. There. I’ve said it. And yes, this stirringly obvious fact has everything to do with chili. You see, where I come from, the phrase chili con carne means “chili with meat,” which to my mind implies that chili without meat is the default, and chili with meat the marked category. In the great state of Texas, folks disagree. Consider the following, a postcard from my friend the fabulous LouBot:
Exhibit A: yes, that’s former U.S. First Lady Johnson, by the way.
My friend Marcy (who is infinitely better than Barbie) says her dad’s default comment on vegetarian food is: “This would be great if it had some meat in it.” About Texas chili, I can only say, “This would be great if it had some beans in it.” Seriously, Texas, where are the beans?
But enough with the mockery. Here is my recipe for chili with beans, like right-thinking people make it (okay, I’m not actually done with the mockery). It’s really more of an outline than a recipe, to allow for flexibility, like if you want to use canned beans instead of dried, or if maybe for some reason you insist on adding meat, you big weirdo.
How to Make Tracy-Style Chili
What You Need (Ingredients and Equipment)
- Big, heavy-bottomed soup or stew pot or Dutch oven.
- 1-2 TB cooking oil
- 1-2 onions, diced
- at least 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
- chili powder (duh), cayenne, cumin, and salt
- 3-5 cups cooked beans (2-3 cans, drained and rinsed). I like a mix of red and black beans, myself.
- 1-2-3 cans diced tomatoes, depending on how many beans you use — I’d say one 14-oz can for every can of beans, or one 28-ounce can for every 2-3 cups, depending on how saucy you want to get. If you like saucy, you could use substitute crushed tomatoes for some of the diced tomatoes, but I like some tomato chunks, myself.
- 1-2 cups frozen corn kernels
- optional: 1/2 pound ground up tempeh or frozen and thawed tofu, or 1 cup TVP for every 2 cups of beans, in case you want to share my shame.
- very optional, if you insist on a sacrificial animal: ground meat (beef or pork, but I’d consider chorizo sausage, too). If it’s just cholesterol you need, you could always use butter instead of cooking oil, or top the chili with cheese.
- optional garnishes: cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, salsa, diced green onions…
- starch for serving the chili on, like rice or pasta, if you’re so inclined
What You Do
- Heat the oil in the heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. (If you’re using meat, you could probably get away without any oil unless the meat is somehow magically de-fatted.) If using meat, add it to the pan and sauté until browned. Add onions and garlic and sauté until translucent. If you’re using ground tofu or tempeh, add it to the pan now. Add 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (or more), at least 1 teaspoon of cumin, and at least 1 tablespoon of chili powder. (Please feel free to add more; these are the tamest, most minimal amounts I could bear to suggest.) Sauté, stirring constantly, until the spices are aromatic and starting to stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Add the canned tomatoes, maybe starting with a little of the juices to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Add the beans and frozen corn, and maybe a little water if the mix in the pan is looking dry (give it a stir!)
- Bring everything to a simmer. If you’re using TVP (not that I really recommend it), add it now, and almost certainly some water because that stuff will absorb liquid and rehydrate like a champ as it cooks.
- Lower the heat and simmer for at least 15 minutes, so the flavors merge (longer is better, and the leftovers will be pretty good, too). Season to taste with salt and serve (on starch if you like, and with any of the garnishes mentioned if they suit your fancy).
Makes anywhere from a lot to a metric boatload of chili, depending on your whim. Tonight I’ll be using this recipe to dress up the leftover red beans and rice with TVP from Tuesday. Leftover chili can be frozen and reheated in case you make more of it than you can stand to eat in say, three or four days.
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http://mycrust.livejournal.com Mike
