CHILLI SIN CARNE

It’s a cold snowy day today here in Stuttgart. A day like this requires a nice hot bowl of chilli!

One of my favorite dishes that I’ve loved since when I was a child was chilli. I remember as a child in the snowiest winters in Toronto, my mom used to take me to Tim Hortons. We would order chillis and a blueberry muffin as dessert. Though it is such a simple dish, it was such a treat for me at that time.

Fast forward to 12 years later, I can now say I make a pretty bomb chilli con carne (which I will share a recipe soon!) . However, as my diet has changed quite drastically the last couple of years, where I eat plant-based food/vegetarian 80% of the time, I’m always looking for ways to make it nutritious without compromising the full flavor that you would get from meat. So, after making many pots of vegetarian chillis, I’m sharing with you one of the best vegetarian chilli that won’t make you think twice. It’s simple, healthy, nutritious, and absolutely delicious!

I hope you will enjoy!

-Ari Yori

CHILLI SIN CARNE RECIPE

prep time: 10 minutes

cooking time: 40-60 minutes

portion: 5-6 servings

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INGREDIENTS

1 large onion, diced

3 large carrots, finely diced

1 large red bell pepper, diced

1 large green bell pepper, diced

4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced

2 tbsp chilli powder

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp smoked paprika (regular paprika substitute)

2 tsp dried oregano

1.5 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp harrisa paste (optional, but highly recommended!)

800g (28oz) canned tomatoes with the juices, diced or whole

x3 400g canned beans, choice of black beans/kidney beans/pinto beans/white beans, drained and rinsed

2.5 cups vegetable broth

2 bay leaves

lime or half of lemon juice (red wine vinegar substitute)

1-2 tbsp honey (optional)

garnishing

fresh cilantro

sour cream/crème fraîche

grated cheddar cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil into a large dutch oven pot over medium heat. First, sauté the onions until it starts to become soft. Add in the garlic and carrots and sauté for about 1-2 minutes. Then add in the red and green peppers and sauté until slightly soft.

2. Add the tomato paste and harissa and cook until it’s well incorporated. Then add in the chilli powder, cumin, smoked paprika and oregano and mix it with the vegetables until it become fragrant for about 30 seconds.

3. Pour in canned tomatoes and deglaze the pot. Then pour in the vegetable broth and throw in the bay leaves. Cover the pot with the lid and let it simmer for at least 20-30 minutes stirring occasionally. Natural sugars will be released from the vegetable and tomatoes as you simmer so this is an important step!

4. Add in the canned beans. My favorite beans to use are x2 black and x1 pinto beans. Mix everything together. Cover the pot with a lid and let it simmer for additional 15-20 minutes over low-medium heat.

5. Add in lime juice/red wine vinegar and add salt and pepper to taste. If you prefer your chilli to be slightly sweeter, feel free to add 1-2 tbsp of honey or maple syrup.

6. Serve a generous portion of the chilli into a bowl and garnish with sour cream or crème fraîche and cilantro leaves.