Sweet and Spicy 3 Bean and Beer Vegetarian Chili

October.29.2009 Tags: chili

Prep Time/Stats

20 - 30 minutes for cut and prep. 3 - 6 hours in a slow cooker (suggested).

Health Information

There are many health benefits to this recipe. Some of the main benefits include a low fat dish with high protein and fiber counts. Due to the amount of vegetables used, as well as dark beans, the antioxidant levels are also high. If you use red kidney beans, there is a high intake of zinc as well which may help prevent aging to DNA.

Suggested Hardware

Crock Pot or Large stove pot, frying pan, cutting board, knife.

Ingredient List

Process

Note: Making chili is more about what you like and how you are feeling as opposed to precise measurements. For spices, I generally use a capful of each, but add more or less depending on what I what I want to taste, as well as how spicy (or not) I want it to be.

If you are using dry beans, soak overnight in water.
Add beans to crock pot on low setting. If you are using canned beans, open cans and pour both the beans and liquid in the pot.
Warm Boca ground beef crumbles in microwave or in a frying pan with extra virgin olive oil then add to beans.
Pour bottle of beer in the pot.
Add spices - chili powder, cayenne, cumin, smoked paprika.
At this point, you may start preparing the produce. Start with chopping sweet onion and adding it to the frying pan with olive oil in order to caramelize the onions.
With produce prepared, and onions caramelized, add onions and peppers into the pot.
For the smoked chipotle peppers, take about two, slice finely, and add (seeds and all). These are extremely spicy.
Add about half a bottle of the mango coconut sauce. Again, more or less, depending on the level of sweetness you would like. The sweetness will balance the spiciness
Take about 10 - 15 organic tortilla chips. Crush them a few at a time in your hands over the chili until all the pieces fall in. This is a measure to suck up some of the liquid. You can add more if you have a lot of liquid to soak up, or less if you don't mind the liquid. Keep in mind, a good portion of the liquid will steam away either way.
For a little extra sweetness, you can now add the brown sugar and cinnamon (if desired)

With all of the ingredients added, you can not completely cover the crock pot. Cooking times may vary. For example, if you are using dried beans to start, cooking time will be longer. Perhaps 4 - 5 hours on high or 7 - 8 hours on lower settings. The benefit of lower settings and longer cooking is that the beans and other ingredients will absorb more flavor from the spices and other ingredients.

On the stovetop you are able to bring more heat and more quickly. Here cooking may last anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes depending on how soft you would like the beans. Keep in mind, if you are using a pot on the stove, you will want to stir every so often to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pan. To that point, I suggest adding the black beans as the last of the three beans you add. This will prevent them from sticking to the bottom as they are the most likely to stick.

You will be able to reduce the cook time if you use canned beans. Canned beans tend to be a bit softer. This is the reason cooking time may not be as long. Again, it all has to do with how soft you like your beans. Patience does pay off though when it comes to flavor.

Once cooking is done, add chili in a bowl. Top with cilantro, and serve with bread. I prefer a a bread with a garlic flavored crust, but any will do. Depending on how spicy you make it, you may need more!

Current Page: http://www.sullenriot.com/recipe/Sweet-and-Spicy-3-Bean-and-Beer-Vegetarian-Chili
Views: 59