Friday, August 31, 2007

(Almost) Vegetarian Chili - Royal Foodie Joust

[VeggieChili+012_edited.JPG]Family-friendly, tex-mex dishes have a special place in our hearts. This Vegetarian chili is great for dinner parties or family gatherings. For this month's foodie joust that The Leftover Queen forum is sponsoring, the three ingredients to create a recipe are chipotle, zucchini and buttermilk. The only ingredient I can easily find in Brazil is zucchini. I had never even tried chipotle before. Luckily, a few months ago, my brother gave me a can of chipotle in adobe sauce, a gift from a Mexican friend, that was standing on my kitchen counter, waiting for the right recipe. As for the buttermilk, I usually make a homemade version of it, because I have never seen it on grocery stores here either. But that's what challenges are all about! Here's my "almost" vegetarian chili. I could not resist and added a cup of italian smoked sausage... Friends and family told me the chili would taste good even withouth it... and I agree!

Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons each basil, oregano and thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
2 large onions, chopped
2 cups zucchinis, chopped
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 cup carrots, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 cups red bell pepper (or green)
4 cups cooked white beans (or a mix of black and red beans)
1 14 1/2-ounce/400g can peeled tomatoes, undrained and crushed
4 cups water
2 cups italian smoked sausage, cubed (optional)

Chipotle cream sauce
1 chipotle in adobe
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup plain yogurt

Directions
1) In a large pot, saute the cumin, basil, oregano, thyme, garlic, cayenne pepper, paprika, salt, onions, zucchinis, corn, carrots, pepper, sausage and garlic in the olive oil until vegetables are tender.

2) Add the cooked beans, water and peeled tomatoes. Reduce heat to low, and let mixture simmer for about 20 minutes.

3) Meanwhile, make the chipottle sauce: blend yogurt, honey, buttermilk and chipotles. Let stand for 15 minutes at room temperature before serving.

4) To serve, ladle chili into bowls. Garnish with chipotle cream sauce, tortilla chips, chopped green onions and cheddar cheese if desired.

Recipe adapted from Wild Oats.

11 comments:

Thistlemoon said...

looks scrumptious Cris!

Anh said...

Oh la la, this must be a very delicious meal! Exactly what I need.

East Meets West Kitchen said...

That looked SO Good! And I love italian smoked sausage. YUM! :)

Patricia Scarpin said...

Cris, I'm curious about chipotle, too - what a wonderful idea to put all the ingredients together!

Abby said...

Such a filling, comforting meal! It's good man food, too. Ha. I often make homemade buttermilk because I hate to buy a container when I need just a cup of it!

PS... I love those soup bowls!

JANET said...

A beautiful dish, Cris! Looks mighty tasty as well.
I just posted a cornmeal mix recipe in the comments on my blog. Hope it works for you!

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Cris,
Come over to my blog for a surprise!

Nunnie's Attic said...

I love all of your recipes. And thanks for the tip on drying tomatoes. I think I just might add you to my blog roll so I can see what you're up to! Great stuff here!

Love,
Julie

Mansi said...

hey, congrats on your winning entry to Royal foodie houst!!

Chef Jeena said...

HiCris, thankyou so much for visiting my blog and leaving such a lovely comment. I think your blog is great I would love to exchange links with you, I have already added your link to my blog :) could you add me to yours? Can't wait to see more of your recipes. :)

Jeena xx

(Jeena's Kitchen)

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