I'm a culinary professional, a vegetarian for a year now-- but more importantly, I used to love good chili. I beseech my fellow vegetarians for the ultimate meatless chili recipe. You post it, I'll try it.
* 1 tablespoon olive oil * 1/2 medium onion, chopped * 2 bay leaves * 1 teaspoon ground cumin * 2 tablespoons dried oregano * 1 tablespoon salt * 2 stalks celery, chopped * 2 green bell peppers, chopped * 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped * 3 cloves garlic, chopped * 2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers, drained * 2 (12 ounce) packages vegetarian burger crumbles * 3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed * 1/4 cup chili powder * 1 tablespoon ground black pepper * 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained * 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained * 1 (15 ounce) can black beans * 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn 1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the celery, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, and green chile peppers. When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes. 2.Mix the tomatoes into the pot. Season chili with chili powder and pepper. Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving.
Thanks PsionicLili! I'll be sure to try that out in the coming week. For those who are also interested in a meatless chili, but like to keep it simple, I offer the following: 1 cup soybean/vegetarian crumbles 1 lg. can tomato juice 1 can hot chili beans 1-2 cans chili beans 1 tbsp. Hain chili seasoning Add all of the above, simmer and eat. Modify as you see fit!
[FONT="]here's a recipe that i've been using for a while now. it's become more of a master list of ingredients that i choose from when making chili. i dont like the uber-heat that habaneros can bring, so i like to use a few different kinds of peppers for more flavor and different kinds of heat. adding a sweet component works well, too. apples are great for this! quinoa is nice to use, too, because you can throw it in there uncooked and it will cook up just fine. enjoy! 1/4 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 medium onion 4 garlic cloves 1.5 tspn each of cumin, oregano 1/4 tsp dry red peppers 1/2 tsp black pepper 2 tablespoon chili powder 2 tablespoon tomato paste 2 green peppers 1 red pepper quinoa 28oz. chopped (or stewed) tomatoes 20 oz. kidney beans 3/4 cup wheat bulger (this is one of the main ingredients that´s the meat substitute) 1 can of corn 1/2 to 1 bottle of beer whiskey (to taste - and use as a garnish) 1 small piece of chocolate (like those Hershey´s Treasures - something that size) 1-2 habanero peppers 1 jalapeño pepper 2 stalks celery 4 carrots apples [/FONT][FONT="]also, i was told by a jamaican friend that the way you´re supposed to cook with habaneros is to NOT cut them at all. dont even break the skin. just drop the entire pepper in the pot as you cook and then take it out later. apparently the hotness seeps through the skin as it cooks. not sure if that´s a jamaican thing or just a habanero pepper thing. [/FONT][FONT="]*Substitute some of the kidney beans with black beans, and be sure to rinse kidney beans before use - they sometimes come packed in sugary water. *Use more chocolate (to taste), but make sure it is very dark stuff (above 72% cocoa). I found that 85% cocoa chocolate works well to cut down on sweetness and tanginess. *Use fresh ingredients whenever possible. For beans, corn, etc. be sure to buy varieties that minimize the 'extra' ingredients (salt, sugars, vinegar, etc.) in the can. Rinsing can help with this to some extent. *Flax meal would also help thicken the chili and add a lot of nutrition.[/FONT]
Recipe? You make chili from a recipe? Weird, man! You take your hot stuff: jalapenos, habaneros, whatever, chop 'em up and saute them to get the hot stuff dissolving into the oil. If you're using onions and garlic, throw' em in too. If you've got mushrooms, chuck 'em in too. Chop up whatever other veggies you've got: celery, carrots, whatever. You should have some not-so-hot peppers as well: bell peppers, anaheims, etc. Add some tomato sauce. Add a bit of cumin, any other spices you like. Oh, yeah, probably some beans. Simmer for hours. Hours and hours, man. If you have a slow cooker, chili is the perfect thing to use it on. Make your chili right after breakfast to serve in the evening, after cooking all day. The slow simmer makes the heat subtle. It sneaks up on you. The perfect chili is when you warn your guests that it might be hot. They take a bite and say, "Aw, man that's wussy chili." Then, 20 or 30 seconds later, they go, "Oh, my God! Water! Yeow!!" Bwah-hah-hah! That slow release comes from the long simmer time.
I'd suggest modifying your own recipe. what I have used in place of meat in recipes ranges from once frozen tofu (fried up like burger mince), lentil, black beans and tempeh. Add oil. You are not getting meat fat/grease in the cooking. Liquid smoke or roasted chilies will get a nice smoky note. Speaking of chilies, use the habanero, but for goodness sakes, not ghost pepper. It has NO fruity note. I use black cocoa for my chili, rather than candy. Cuts out the sugar but gets that mole-like bite. I agree that it is a recipe-free enterprise, based on what is at hand and preferences. I would NEVER add corn, but I'd serve with corn bread. I don't like sweet corn at all.
