October is Vegan Month of Food, or Vegan MoFo, as it's more amusingly called. To celebrate Vegan MoFo, I'll be making at least one vegan meal per week to post here. To start, I made a modified version of Epicurious' Vegetable and Bean Chili, which was not only delicious but especially photogenic.
You will need:
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, diced
- 1/2 fresh jalapeno chile, seeded and diced
- 2 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 28-oz can of whole peeled tomatoes, coarsely chopped, with juice (I just dumped it all in a bowl and cut up the tomatoes with the edge of a fork)
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1/2 cup corn kernels
- 2 15-oz cans of kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (just trust me)
- 3 Tbsp chopped cilantro (optional)
Steps:
- Saute onions, pepper, garlic, and jalapeno in oil over medium-high heat in a stockpot or deep, rimmed skillet. Cook until softened, stirring occasionally (about 5 minutes). Add chili powder, cumin, and salt; cook and stir 1 minute.
- Add tomatoes with juice, zucchini, and corn; cover partially and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Sprinkle the cocoa powder over the mixture and add the beans; cook and stir another 5 minutes, uncovered. Stir in the cilantro (if using) and serve.
What I like about this recipe was that it really spotlighted the vegetables' flavors; plus, it's very low in fat. It's not the most exciting chili I've ever had, but that could also be because I wimped out on the spices (I used more like 1/3 of the jalapeno and only 1/2 Tbsp of the chili powder because I didn't want it to be too spicy). Next time I'll use what the recipe calls for, but I wanted to be safe the first time I made it.
I had only a small green bell pepper, so I supplemented it with a few miniature red and yellow bell peppers, which added beautiful color. The zucchini blends well with the other veggies, so don't worry about it turning out slimy (as zucchini sadly can). The cocoa powder adds a unique depth of flavor without making it sweet or particularly chocolatey, even. If you've never cooked savory dishes with cocoa powder, definitely give it a try! It doesn't stand out but simply enhances the other flavors.
Next time I'd probably use only half the tomato juice, as this turned out pretty soupy. I ended up pouring off some of the liquid in the end. I'm just happy this turned out as well as it did, considering the experience did not start off well. Four minutes into sauteeing the veggies, my Le Creuset stockpot started to smoke and sizzle. This stockpot and I haven't gotten along for several months now, and I don't know if it's the fault of the dishwasher or the stove or me. I have a glass-top electric stove, and I'm thinking Le Creuset might not be compatible with that type of stove, but I don't have the original literature to know for sure. It could also be the hard water in our system or the type of dishwasher powder we use. Whatever the reason, I noticed the coating was starting to wear off, and tonight everything stuck to the bottom in a smoky mess. The deep skillet ended up being a better option anyway. I felt awful throwing away a wedding gift, but that pot was beyond repair. Anybody else have bad luck with this type of stockpot?
