Vegetarian Chili, Serves 4 - 6: We adapted this vegetarian chili recipe many years ago from The Moosewood Cookbook, by Mollie Katzen. We ate vegetarian chili so often at our house, when the kids were growing up, that we knew the recipe by heart. There were always several containers in the freezer, for those times when ravenous appetite struck without warning.
We dedicate
this chili recipe to our vegetarian daughter, Zoe, who pretty much lived on it for several years, and had
been nagging us for the recipe. Vegetarian chili is a great vegan recipe by itself, or with salad and cornbread, or make it vegetarian with parmesan or ricotta cheese, or sour cream.
Ingredients:
1 cup dried kidney beans, with cooking liquid (see recipe below)
Or 2 cans bean, drained and rinsed + 4 cups water
1 cup bulgar or cracked wheat
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped small
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 jalapeno pepper, halved and seeded, or 1 pinch cayenne
2 thin slices fresh ginger, peeled, or 1/2 tsp dried
1 tiny pinch asoefetida, OR 1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/2 cinnamon stick
3 Tblsp olive oil
1 tsp each: paprika, gr. cumin, coriander, fennel
1 tsp salt
1/4 c. minced parsley
1 Tblsp braggs liquid aminos, or soy sauce
Kidney beans:
1 cup dried dark red kidney beans
Soak 4 hours in hot water, or overnight
Drain, rinse, add 6 cups unsalted water
Bring to a boil, skim foam, cover and simmer 2 hours
Add bulgar & tomato paste to kidney beans + cooking liquid or water
Add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, jalapeno & ginger slices
Return to boil, cover and simmer
Preheat saute pan or frying pan on medium
Prep veggies, including garlic clove, if you're using it
Saute veggies in oil 5 minutes
Add remaining spices, saute another two minutes
Stove Top: Add a few tablespoons water, cover, and steam for ten minutes
Transfer the veggies to the bean + bulgar mix, cook another fifteen mnutes or so. Add minced parsley, and braggs or soy sauce to taste
Slow Cooker or Crockpot: Omit the first three steps. After sauteing the veggies, transfer everything to the cooker, cover and simmer 2 hours. Add minced parsley, and braggs or soy sauce to taste.
*If you're going to soak and cook beans, it's worth making extra, to freeze
in small amounts for future meals.
Do you have a great vegetarian or vegan recipe to share with the world? We can't guarantee to use all the recipes we get, but we'll gladly test your recipe - if it works and we like it, we'll publish it.
