Black-eyed Pea Chili with Quinoa and Corn

This recipe makes a lot, but it can be easily halved to make a smaller pot of chili.

Ingredients

• 2 large onions, chopped (I use a food processor)
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 cups (24 ounces) fresh black-eyed peas, or 2 1/2 cups (1 pound) dried peas, soaked overnight and drained
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 2 1/2 tablespoons mild chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder, red pepper, or hot smoked paprika (adjust to taste)
• 2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes, with juice (fire-roasted preferred)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn
• 1/3 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: wedges of lime and slices of avocado, to serve

Instructions

1. Heat a large, non-stick Dutch oven or chili pot. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they soften, about 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
2. Add the black-eyed peas, broth, and everything up through the tomatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the peas are tender. The time will vary depending on the age of the peas, but count on at least 75 minutes, and add more broth if it looks like it’s getting dry.
3. When the peas are tender, check the seasoning and add more to taste (this is a good time to increase the heat by adding more chipotle powder). Add the corn and quinoa and cook until the quinoa is tender, at least 20 minutes. (If the chili seems too “soupy,” cook uncover the pot; otherwise, keep it covered.) Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a squeeze of lime juice or slices of avocado, if desired.

Variations

This recipe should work well in both the pressure cooker and slow cooker. You may have to play with the times, but for pressure cooking, I would give it 10 minutes at high pressure during step 2 and add extra time if needed to get the peas tender. Follow step 3 as written.

For slow cooking, in step 2, cook on high for 4-5 hours, low for 8-10. Add the quinoa and corn during the last hour of cooking.

Preparation time: 15 minute(s) | Cooking time: 2 hour(s)

Number of servings (yield): 8 servings, about 1 1/2 cup each

Nutrition (per serving): 309 calories, 19 calories from fat, 2.3g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 616.1mg sodium, 943.9mg potassium, 57.9g carbohydrates, 10.6g fiber, 10.8g sugar, 18.1g protein. (Sodium comes mostly from vegetable broth and canned tomatoes; you can eliminate much of it by using salt-free versions of both.)

Another version:

Vegetarian Chili with black eyed peas

serves 6

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil

4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

5-6 mushrooms

1 green capsicum

1 red capsicum

1 onion

6 medium tomatoes

2 cups boiled black eyed peas (Pressure cooked with enough water until very soft and mushy)

2 chipotle chillies in adobo sauce (or use regular green / red chillies finely chopped)

1/2 tsp red chilli powder or more as per preference

1 tsp dried ground oregano

1 tsp freshly ground cumin 

Preparation

Finely chop the garlic, onion, mushrooms and capsicums.

Fill a large pot with 2 L water. Score the tomatoes with a cross at the smooth end. Allow to come to a boil and drop the tomatoes. Once this comes to a simmer, turn off flame and cover for 2 minutes.

Fish out the tomatoes and place them in tap/cold water, until cool enough to handle. Peel off skins and chop to a medium dice, seeds included.

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large wok. Saute the garlic for 30 seconds, before adding the onions, capsicums and mushrooms. On a medium flame, let these cook for 7-10 minutes with a pinch of salt added towards the end.
2. Once the vegetables are nearly done, add the chopped blanched tomatoes, cooked black eyed peas, chopped chipotle / chillies and spice powders along with a tsp (or as per taste) of salt. Add 1/2-1 cup of water, cover with a lid and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Check for spiciness and salt, adjust the taste according to your preference and remove into a serving bowl. This chilli should be quite dried out if using as a pizza topping or else the base will get soggy. If serving with tortillas or rice, you can leave some amount of liquid in the chili.

You can use black beans, kidney beans or any other beans instead of black eyed peas.