Pierce Street Vegetarian Chili Recipe

I found this recipe from a great vegetarian cooking blog, 101 Cookbooks. Great stuff on there. I like so many of the ingredients in this, we shall see how it ends up.

Pierce Street Vegetarian Chili Recipe

A few notes related to this chili recipe. The chili powder I used was very ancho-centric. I think the earthiness of ancho and lentils works nicely together, but feel free to use your favorite chili powder. This recipe makes a pot of chili with a bit of a kick to it - if you're nervous about heat, scale back a bit on the powder and peppers, wait until you get to the simmer stage and add more a bit at a time tasting all the while. As far as broth goes - I really dislike many of the pre-made vegetable broths out there, but do like Rapunzel Herb Bouillon with Salt. I'd actually prefer you use water if you can't find a vegetable broth/stock good enough to heat up and drink on its own. I should also mention I used a blend of two types of lentils here - black and French green lentils - 1 1/2 cups black lentils, 3/4 cup French green lentils. And lastly, this makes a huge pot of chili, so get out your largest pot.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
8 small/med garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and grated
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 serrano pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 chipotle pepper (from can or rehydrate), minced
1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
10 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (canned is fine)
2 1/4 cups black, brown, or green lentils (or combo), rinsed and picked over
2/3 cup pearled barley or pearled farro
2/3 cup bulgur wheat
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt (or to taste)

toppings (opt): a bit of chopped serranos, a bit of feta or dollop of thinned out salted yogurt, a drizzle of equal parts chopped fresh oregano and olive oil, chopped onion

In a large stockpot pot over medium heat add the olive oil, onion, and shallots. When the onions soften up and get a bit translucent, add the garlic, ginger, chili powder and cumin. Stir well and cook for a minute of so, until everything gets quite fragrant. Stir in the serrano pepper and chipotle pepper, tomatoes, and 8 cups of the broth. Now add the chickpeas, lentils, barley/farro, and bulgur - stirring between each addition. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer. Take a taste of the broth a few minutes into the simmer - you can make adjustments for salt here - if you're using water in place of broth, you can add a teaspoon of salt for starters and add more later if needed.

Simmer away for about 35- 45 minutes or until the lentils and grains are cooked through. You will likely need to add the rest of the water, a cup at a time, if the chili thickens up too much. Before serving do your final adjustments - add more chipotle, salt, or whatever you think it needs and enjoy! I love this chili with a bit of feta or goat cheese on top and a big drizzle of olive oil, but I listed off a few other topping ideas up above.

A huge pot of chili - serves 12 or more.

Vegetarian Chili

This recipe is from my sister-in-law, and if I remember right, she got it out of a Penzey's catalog. Still a tad spicy for Josh, this time around I will only put in one Tbsp of chili powder.

3 TBLS OIL
1 ONION CHOPPED
3 GARLIC CLOVES MINCED
1 RED PEPPER CHOPPED (I USE JARRED ROASTED RED PEPPERS, CHOPPED)
1/2 TSP PEPPER
1 TSP CUMIN
1/2 TSP CHIPOTLE PEPPER POWDER(PENZEY'S IS THE BEST I'VE TRIED SO FAR)
DASH CAYENNE
3 TBLS CHILI POWDER
1-3 CUPS WATER (DEPENDS ON YOUR PREFERENCE)
26 OZ. TOMATO SAUCE
2 16 OZ. CANS CHOPPED TOMATOES W/ JUICE
2 CANS KIDNEY BEANS DRAINED
1 CAN BLACK BEANS DRAINED


HEAT OIL IN PAN OVER MED HEAT. ADD ONION, GARLIC AND PEPPER AND COOK UNTIL THEY START TO SOFTEN. IN A SMALL BOWL, MIX ALL SPICES AND ADD TO THE PAN. COOK UNTIL SPICES START TO GET STICKY. POUR SOME OF THE TOMATO JUICE INTO THE PAN AND SCRAPE UP ALL THE BITS. POUR THIS MIXTURE, ALONG WITH REMAINING INGREDIENTS INTO THE SLOW COOKER. COOK ON HIGH FOR AT LEAST 3-4 HOURS.