We recently adapted this Mark Bittman chili recipe from his classic cookbook, “How to Cook Everything”, for a group that included carnivores, a vegan and a vegetarian. By following his directions (using the bean cooking liquid rather than meat stock) all we had to do was transfer part of the bean chili to a separate pot for the non-meat eaters and then added meat to the remaining chili. Everyone loved it!
Bean Chili & Chili con Carne:
Makes 6-8 servings (can be doubled to serve more)
Time: About 2 hours, largely unattended
Ingredients:
1 pound dried pinto, kidney, or other beans (we used a combination of black beans*, kidney beans and pinto beans), washed, picked over, and soaked if you like. *If combining black beans, soak separately and rinse before cooking so they don’t discolor the other beans- 1 whole onion, unpeeled, plus 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cup (or more depending on how thick you like your chili) bean-cooking liquid* or chicken, beef or vegetable stock*, or water* (*for vegan/vegetarian chili)
- 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes (optional)
- 1 fresh or dried hot chile, seeded, stemmed and minced, or to taste (optional) be sure to taste for amounts on this and remember…you can always add more but never less and don’t touch your eyes after handling fresh chiles.
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin*, or to taste (optional) *for extra flavor grind cumin seeds with a mortar & pestle
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon (optional)
- 3-6 tablespoons chili powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
Directions:
1. Place the beans in a large pot with water to cover and bring to a boil over high heat, skimming the foam if necessary. Add the whole onion. Turn the heat down so the beans simmer and cover loosely.
2. When the beans begin to soften (30 minutes to an hour, depending on the type of bean and whether or not you soaked the beans), season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary, until the beans are quite tender but still intact (about as long as it took them to begin to soften).
[If adding meat, start cooking in a separate skillet now]
3. Drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid if you choose to use it. Discard the onion and add all the remaining ingredients except the cilantro. Turn the heat to medium and bring to a boil. Cover and turn the heat down to low.
4. Cook, stirring occasionally and adding more liquid if necessary, until the beans are very tender and the flavors have mellowed, about 15 minutes. Taste, adjust the seasoning.
Chili con Carne:
Follow directions above. While the beans are cooking, put 1 tablespoon canola or other neutral oil, in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 pound hand-chopped or ground organic beef (Herondale Farm), pork, turkey, or chicken and cook, stirring, until the meat has lost its color, about 10 minutes. (I used ground turkey which was delicious!) Season the meat with salt, pepper, and about 2 teaspoons chili powder, or to taste. Stir it into the beans along with the other ingredients and continue cooking as above.
Garnish with Cilantro and serve with rice, crackers or tortilla chips.
You can also put out bowls of chopped raw onion, grated Cheddar or Jack cheese and Sour Cream for additional individual garnish.
