Good Vegetarian Chili

Recently I received an email from America's Test Kitchen.  They had two vegetarian recipes that they insisted were really good.  Because we like chili in our house, I decided to try the recipe.

First thing this morning, before I was even dressed, I went to the cellar for some dry pinto beans to put soaking.  After picking them over and rinsing them well, I put them in a heavy 6-quart pot.  Maybe it is 8 quarts, good sized anyway.  From then on, the recipe changed due to what I had in the kitchen.  This post is what I actually did.

Put  one and one half pounds picked over, rinsed and drained pinto beans in a large pot.  Add 3 Tablespoons Kosher salt and 4 quarts water and bring to a boil.  When boiling, turn off heat, cover, and let sit for one hour.  After one hour of sitting, place pot in oven at 300 degrees F. and let cook for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and  drain through a large colander.  Wash and dry pot.

In food processor finely chop onions, to make at least 3 cups chopped onions.  I only had small onions so I removed skins from about 12 onions then chopped them in processor on pulse for 30-45 seconds.  Add one-quarter cup vegetable oil to the large pot and bring to a shimmer over medium heat.  Add the onions and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to brown.

In the meantime, in a small food processor or spice grinder place 1 cup of home-dried mushrooms (or 3-4 dried shiitake mushrooms if you have access to them) and 3-4 Tablespoons of italian seasoning (or just oregano if you want to be a little more "normal"), and process until very fine.  Add 3 Tablespoons ancho chili powder and 3 Tablespoons regular chili powder and pulse to combine again.  Add 1 Tablespoon cumin and pulseonce again.  Set aside.

When onions are lightly browned, add the seasoning mixture to the pot and stir for 1-2 minutes, until the seasonings smell nice, OR stop before that because you are nervous about burning them.  This is over medium heat...but still, there are always burning concerns...

In food processor pour in one 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, 6-8 garlic cloves, 3 Tablespoons soy sauce (yes, soy sauce) and 2 Tablespoons pickled jalapenos.  Process for about 1 minute, until everything makes a lovely mush.

By this time the onions spice mixture is ready to be removed from the heat.  Add the tomato mixture and stir well.  Add in the well-drained cooked beans, and 7 cups water.  Stir very well until everything is combined.  Stirring pretty often, bring to a boil.  When boiling add 3/4 cups bulgar wheat and stir again.  Cover and put in oven at 300 degrees F. for two hours.

Remove from oven.  Remove lid and stir well.  Let sit 20-30 minutes.

Garnish with fun stuff like chopped avocados, sour cream, shredded cheese, lime wedges, diced fresh tomatoes, or whatever else appeals to you.   Or just dish it up and eat!  Plain is fine. 


Yummy!  Makes PLENTY so invite your family and friends to join you for a nice winter's supper.