When fresh chili peppers are not available because it's snowing and we just have to have homemade hot salsa to mix with our homemade vegan mozzarella to make homemade vegan Baked Queso, this is what we do.
Not exact matches
Method: Heat a large pot with a «good glug» of olive oil Add the garlic and red onion Add the oregano and cumin and saute for 5 - 7 minutes, check in to smell occasionally, mmmm... If it gets dry, add a splash of wine and continue to cook
When the onions are translucent, add the
chili flakes, cayenne and cinnamon, stir to incorporate all flavors Add the tomato sauce and cook for about 15 minutes Add the
fresh tomato, mushrooms and beans Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes Salt and pepper and turn off heat Stir, taste and adjust as needed
I make a similar meatless
chili in a crockpot (I make a LOT at once and freeze for a quick lunch or dinner for 1 or 2)- and I think you'll like this idea: along with carrots, celery, onions and garlic, I usually use 3 - 4 cans of (low sodium, rinsed) beans (2 kidney, 1 each of another; I like black and small white or pink beans), 3 - 4 red / yellow / orange sweet peppers (I but at the farmer's market
when fresh and cut up and freeze the extras for making
chili in the fall / winter); 1 or 2 zucchini and / or yellow squash, and (drum roll) 1 can of organic PUMPKIN PUREE!
The bread is best
when served hot and warm with some tasty Cabot butter, or you can serve it with some
fresh soup or
chili too.
The first or second time I ever made a big batch of
chili on my own, I learned that it will take for - ever to thicken up the way I like it, unless I added a bit of tomato paste (and that's a trick I learned from my Italian momma
when I would help make marinara / bolognese sauce as a kid), and as I've gotten older, too much tomato doesn't agree with me like it used to, so I also add in beef broth (and a littttle
fresh lime juice) to cut the acid.
I added some
chili powder and garam masala
when simmering the final product... Then I garnished with the no fat yogurt, some chopped ciantro, some more garam masala... and a squeeze of
fresh lime.
When it comes to toppings, I'm partial to a drizzle of
chili oil with cilantro and pomegranate arils — so Christmasy bright and
fresh — but the you do you garnishing possibilities are endless.