How to Make Vegetarian (or Vegan) Chili without a Recipe

From Food52.

There’s something about chili -- so versatile and satisfying. Top it with cheese, sour cream, avocado, crumbled crackers, or diced fresh onions and hot peppers. Roll it into a tortilla with some rice. Pour it over a burger. It’s all good. 

My favorite recipe is a vegetarian version from my former restaurant in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Dedicated carnivores and vegans alike happily slurped it up. If you prefer meat in yours, by all means go ahead -- it’ll be terrific. 

I like to think of chili in terms of ratios. However you decide to proceed, and whatever ingredients you use, stick to about 2 parts diced vegetables : 2 parts cooked or canned beans : 2 parts tomatoes : a little less than 1 part (optional) added protein like tofu. This is a loose guideline, of course, but it gives you something to jump off from.

Let’s make it happen.

How to Make Vegetarian Chili Without a Recipe

1. In a big heavy pot, heat up a pat of butter or a glug of oil of your choosing. Sauté some diced onions, whatever combination of hot and bell peppers you like, and garlic. If you feel like some finely diced carrots, leeks, or celery, too, go for it. Add some salt and stir.

2. Add spices. I’ve used chili powder, cumin, turmeric, smoked paprika, chipotle, and various ground peppers; you should use whatever tastes like chili to you. Use 2 to 3 times as much assorted chili powders as cumin and turmeric. This is really to taste, but start with 1/2 teaspoon of cumin per cup of tomatoes if you need a benchmark. Salt and pepper to taste. If you didn't put in fresh garlic, add garlic powder here -- shoot for about the same amount of garlic powder as cumin. 

3. Now, get your can opener ready! You’ll need beans and diced tomatoes. I love to use fire-roasted diced tomatoes and diced tomatoes with green chilis, but you can use your favorite. As for beans, I prefer a combination of kidneys, garbanzos and black beans. If you like to work with dried beans, I recommend cooking these first and then adding them now. You will probably also need to add 1 part water or stock at this point. Fill your empty tomato cans with stock or water as a measuring guideline and pour in liquid until it looks like chili. 

4. Add more protein if you like. I’m a fan of tofu, so I cut a block of extra-firm into smallish cubes and toss it in. Tip: If you freeze tofu ahead of time, then thaw, then squeeze all the water out before you use it, you’ll be blown away by the texture. 

5. Now just simmer for about an hour, mostly covered. Then add spice as needed and enjoy! Don’t forget to serve it over scrambled eggs for tomorrow’s breakfast. 

Round out your Tex-Mex menu with some other classics:

• Cornbread with Chorizo• Charred Corn and Avocado Salad with Lime, Chili, and Tomato• Rick Bayless's Tortilla Soup with Shredded Chard

Black Bean and Chorizo Chili

We’re not sure whether it’s the chorizo sausage, cinnamon, or semisweet chocolate that gives this chili its secret ingredient, but reviewers agree on one thing -- it tastes spectacular. This black bean chili recipe gets a kick from chorizo sausage and smoky chipotle chiles.

• 1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• Cooking spray
• 2 1/2 cups chopped onion, divided
• 1 1/2 cups chopped green bell pepper 
• 1 1/2 cups chopped red bell pepper 
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 links Spanish chorizo sausage, diced (about 6 1/2 ounces) 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained
• 3 (14-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, undrained and chopped
• 1 (8 1/2-ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, drained
• 1 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 cup fat-free sour cream
• Baked tortilla chips (optional)

1. Remove 2 chiles from can; finely chop, reserving remaining chiles and sauce for another use.
2. Heat a large Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chiles, 1 3/4 cups onion, bell peppers, garlic, and chorizo; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add chili powder and next 7 ingredients (chili powder through corn), stirring to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, covered, 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate, salt, and black pepper.
3. Ladle 1 cup chili into each of 12 bowls. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream and 1 tablespoon onion. Serve with tortilla chips.

David Bonom, Cooking Light 
MARCH 2003

Easy Turkey Chili with Kale

From Kitchn

Serves 4 to 6

Olive oil
1 1/3 pounds 93% lean ground turkey (ours comes in a 1.3-lb package, but a 1-lb package works, too)
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen corn kernels 
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 small bunch lacinato kale, tough stems removed and roughly chopped (or a couple of big handfuls of spinach or other greens)

Heat a splash of olive oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the turkey, season with salt and pepper, and cook, breaking apart into crumbles with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove meat with a slotted spoon and set aside.

If you want to pour off some of the remaining fat, you can (we don't). But leave enough to coat the bottom of the pot. Reduce the heat slightly and add the onions and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened. (If you use a green pepper, add it here with the onion.) While the onions and garlic are cooking, combine the brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, mixing with a fork.

Add the spice mixture and tomato paste to the onions and garlic. Cook for about a minute, stirring to combine the paste with the spices. Add the tomatoes and stir, picking up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot.

Raise the heat to medium and add the meat, beans, corn, and chicken broth to the pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then lower the heat, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. Add the kale and continue cooking, covered, for about 15 more minutes.

Best Vegetarian Chili

Here's another recipe to try for the hubby.

We prefer to make this chili with whole dried chiles, but it can be prepared with jarred chili powder (our favorite brand is Spice Islands).  If using chili powder, grind the dried shitakes and oregano and add them to the pot with 1/4 cup of chili powder in step 4.  We also recommend a mix of at least two types of beans, one creamy (such as cannellini or navy) and one earthy (such as pinto, black, or red kidney.  For a spicier chii, us both jalepenos.  Serve the chili with lime wedges, sour cream, diced avocado, chopped red onion and shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese, if desired.

Salt
1 pound (2 1/2 cups) dried beans, picked over and rinsed
2 dried ancho chiles
2 dried New Mexican chiles
1/2 ounce dried shitake musrooms, chopped coarse
4 tsps dried oregano1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained with juice reserved
3 tblsps tomato paste
1-2 jalapenio chiles, stemmed and coarsely chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
3 tblsp soy sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 pounds onions, chopped fine
1 tblsp ground cumin
7 cups water
2/3 cup medium-grind bulgur
1/4 cup cilantro

1.  Bring 4 quarts water, 3 tblsps salt and beans to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat.  Remove pot from heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour.  Drain beans and rinse well.  Clean pot.

2.  Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees.  Arrange anchos and New Mexican chiles on rimmed baking sheet and toast until fragrant and puffed, about 8 minutes.  Transfer to plate and let cool, about 5 minutes.  Stem and seed anchos and New Mexican chiles.  Working in batches, grind toasted chiles, mushrooms and oregano in spice grinder or with mortar and pestle until finely ground.

3.  Process walnuts in food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds.  Transfer to bowl.  Proces drained tomatoes, tomato paste, jalapeno(s), garlic, and soy sauce in food processor until tomatoes are fiinely chopped, about 45 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.

4.  Heat oil in now empty Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Add onions and 1 1/4 tsps salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until onions begin to brown, 8 to 10 minutes.  Lower heat to medium and add ground chile mixture and cumin; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add rinsed beans and water and bring to boil.  Cover pot, transfer to oven and cook for 45 minutes.

5.  Remove pot from oven.  Stir in bulgur, ground walnuts, tomato mixture, and reserved tomato juice.  Cover pot and return to oven.  Cook until beans are fully tender, about 2 hours.

6.  Remove pot from oven, stir chili well, and let stand, uncovered, for 20 minutes.  Sitr in cilantro and serve.  (Chili can be made up to 3 days in advance.)