This is definitely the best vegetarian chili I’ve ever had…at home or a restaurant. Thank you, Isa Chandra Moskowitz
I’ve been traveling a lot for work, so we’ve fallen into a little pattern. Erik and I cook a couple of times over the weekend and then he finishes any leftovers while I’m gone. It didn’t seem fair that I had to eat room service junk while he got to eat this, though, so I made him promise to save me a bowl.
If you can’t eat gluten or if you prefer meat in your chili, see the notes at the end of the recipe.
Holy Mole Chile
Makes a big pot, but it reheats well
Ingredients
| Amount | Ingredient | Preparation | Where we bought it (* Union Sq. Greenmarket) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | Sunflower oil | Stolor Organics * | |
| 1/2 pounds | Onion | About 1 large, chopped | Paffenroth Gardens * |
| 3 small | Dried chiles | Snipped into small pieces with a pair of scissors | Northshire Farms * |
| 5 ounces | Frozen chopped bell peppers | Substitute 1 large fresh bell pepper | Migliorelli Farm * |
| 3 cloves | Garlic | Smashed using the heel of your hand on the flat part of a knife or a large spoon | Keith’s Farm * |
| 1 pound | Seitan | Ripped into bite-sized pieces | Homemade using Cayuga Pure Organics flour * |
| 2 TBsp | Chile powder | ||
| 1 tsp | Ground cinnamon | ||
| 1/2 tsp | Ground cumin | ||
| 28 oz can | Whole tomatoes | Canned this summer from Cherry Hill Orchards * | |
| 3 TBsp | Cocoa powder | ||
| 3 TBsp | Blackstrap molasses | Blackstrap is much less sweet than regular molasses. | |
| 1 3/4 cups | Dried beans | Soaked for 6-10 hours | We used a combination of pinto and Jacob’s cattle beans from Cayuga Pure Organics * |
| 2 1/2 cups | Vegetable broth | Homemade using veggies from various farmers * |
Directions:
- Add the oil to a large pot, preferably a Dutch oven
, and warm over medium-high heat.
- Once you feel heat in the pot, add the onions and both types of peppers. Sauté until the onion is translucent, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic and seitan and cook for 6 to 8 minutes. The seitan will stick to the bottom of the pan, so stir occasionally.
- While the seitan is cooking, prep the rest of the ingredients in two groups.
Group 1 = chile powder, cinnamon, and cumin
- Once the seitan has cooked, add the spices in Group 1 and stir for a minute or so until you start to smell them.
- Add the Group 2 ingredients (tomatoes, cocoa powder, and molasses). Stir, breaking up the tomatoes with the spoon.
- Add the beans and vegetable broth.
- Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook for about an hour or until the beans are tender.
- Once the chili is done, try to wait 15-20 minutes before eating it, so that it can cool down and thicken up
Group 2 = tomatoes (open the can, but don’t drain), cocoa powder, and molasses. Note: The molasses will be much easier to measure if you use the oily measuring cup and just fill it 3/4 of the way. (4 tablespoons = 1/4 cup)
Possible substitutions:
- I think you could subsitute a pound of any sort of protein for the seitan, as long as you’re mindful of the fat content. If you use ground beef, for example, it might be a good idea to decrease the oil to a few teaspoons.
- You could also use pre-cooked or canned beans and cut the cooking time to 30 minutes or so.
Yum!
[...] Holy mole chili [...]
[...] Holy mole chili [...]