When the weather gives you a chill, I say make chili! It is the perfect one-pot meal for fall and winter. And the best thing about it is that it gets better with time, so it is the perfect make-ahead meal.

Originally, chili con carne was a simple soup-like stew made of chilies and beef, and in Texas “a bowl of red” still has no beans about it! But the thing that I love about today’s “chili” is that the new definition allows for almost any combination of ingredients that make up a soup-like stew.

I make all kinds of chili - the popular ground beef and bean chili, a mean bowl of red, a white chicken chili with green chilies and hominy, and everything in between. But the chili that started my love affair with the one-pot wonder is my fire-roasted tomato and veggie chili.

When I was a just starting out, this was the dish that I made for housewarming gifts, or for friends who were under the weather, as well as for big gatherings when cash was short but friendship was large. I would make a huge pot of this chili and a skillet full of cornbread and that would be the party!

This vegetarian chili is so dense and “meaty” that you don’t miss the con carne part and it is something that you can serve just about everyone regardless of food preferences. It is meatless and vegan, gluten-free and - most importantly - a delicious and hearty stick-to-your-ribs version of an American classic.

The key to a great chili is layering the flavors. I do this several ways. I roast the garlic before adding it to the chili, giving the dish a deep garlic flavor that is savory sweet instead of raw and sharp. I also caramelize the mushrooms and vegetables before adding the liquid, again deepening the flavor. Finally, I add a bottle of beer as the chili simmers. This gives the finished dish body and additional layers of flavor.

This also is a technique you can apply to any of your favorite chili recipes. Making sure that each category of ingredients (vegetables, aromatics, liquids, etc.) is fully seasoned before adding the other ingredients to the pot is the key to the rich, almost bottomless flavor. Just be prudent with the salt, as it will assert itself in every layer and you want to make sure that the chili is well seasoned but not over-salted.

 

Ingredients

1 head of roasted garlic or 15-20 large cloves of garlic, baked Olive oil

1 pound sliced mushrooms

2 carrots, peeled and shredded

1 red onion, sliced

1 red or yellow pepper, chopped

1 pint grape tomatoes

2 small cans (10-ounce) Rotel tomatoes (tomatoes with mild roasted green chiles with liquid)

1 14.5 ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes with liquid

1 ½ cups of cooked black beluga lentils or; 1 15 ounce can of lentils, rinsed

1 15-ounce favorite chili beans, rinsed

1 bottle/can beer

⅔ can tomato paste (about 6 tablespoons)

1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder or other high-quality chili powder

1 tablespoon fresh ground ancho chile powder

5-10 shakes Tabasco, or to taste Kosher salt to taste

Chopped green onion, grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, oyster crackers, optional garnis

• Roast garlic (see recipe below)

Methods/steps

Meanwhile, in a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or stock pot, brown mushrooms and veggies in olive oil and a pinch of salt. Cook with the lid on for five minutes and off for five minutes until soft. Add roasted garlic and grape tomatoes, Rotel, fire-roasted tomatoes lentils, beans, beer, and tomato paste. Mix well and bring to a soft boil.

Add chile powder and ancho chile powder and stir well. Let cook uncovered over medium heat for 45 minutes or until thickened and tomatoes are cooked down (you may have to ""mash"" them with the back of a wooden spoon.)

Season to taste with Tabasco, Kosher salt and just a sprinkling of freshly ground pepper.

Serve hot with cornbread and your favorite beer. (This recipe can be made in advance and reheated. It also freezes well.)

Cooking method: Indirect/Medium heat on an outdoor grill or a pre-heated 350 F oven

1 head garlic 2 teaspoons olive oil

Remove first layer of papery skin from garlic. Slice off top ½-inch from pointy top. Drizzle with olive oil. Wrap in foil and cook indirectly for 40 minutes or until cloves are golden-brown and soft. Remove from grill or oven, let cool. Follow recipe instructions, but in almost all cases, remove the roasted cloves from their skin and place in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Roasted Garlic

This is one of those pantry items that make almost any recipe better. Substitute roasted garlic for raw garlic for a more mellow and deeper flavor. When you are roasting one head, go ahead and make a few more, it keeps in the fridge for at least one weeks.

ALL RECIPES ©ELIZABETH KARMEL 2019