My Best Recipe: Customizable Chili

A Special Vacation Post

It’s summer, and the Happy Wanderer has wandered to Minnesota to enjoy the gorgeous weather, lake life, and time with family. For the next two weeks, the Happy Wanderer posts will be shorter and will offer fun ideas for end-of-summer gatherings. We’ll return to regular-length posts at the start of September.

Readers, would you like a recipe that is quick, easy, healthy, delicious, inexpensive to make, and safe for every dietary restriction (except an allergy to nightshades)? I have made my chili literally hundreds of times, for guests of all ages and multiple nationalities. Vegans and vegetarians, the lactose-intolerant, those with a low tolerance for spicy food, and gluten-free people can eat this dish safely, and because the chili is customizable, carnivores and people (like me) who prefer some heat love it too. The chili even has a secret ingredient, which may be why such luminaries as the US ambassador to the Czech Republic have told me that it’s the best chili they’ve ever tasted. Plus the recipe makes enough to feed an army. It is the perfect dish for a family reunion or other large gathering. Let’s get cooking!

I forgot to take a picture of my chili the last time I made it, but this is what it looks like. I found this image here. But don’t use their recipe! Use mine, because it’s way better.

The Chili

Ingredients

1/4c vegetable oil

1/2 a small onion, finely minced (save the other half for the second part of the recipe)

1 small clove garlic, very finely minced with 1tsp salt to make a paste

1 jalapeño pepper, seeds and veins removed and finely minced

1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, finely minced into a paste (hint: do not omit, because this is the secret ingredient!)

This is the brand I use. You can find canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce in the international section of most grocery stores.

1T dried oregano

2T each ground cumin and ground coriander, plus more to taste

1 yellow bell pepper, finely minced (about 1cm square)

1 smallish zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced

3 good-sized tomatoes, prepared as follows: Cut each in half, squeeze the pulp out and discard, remove the peel by running your thumb between the peel and the flesh, and coarsely chop the flesh

1 15oz/400gm can each kidney beans, chick peas, and black beans, well-rinsed to remove the yucky liquid

1 28oz/800gm can crushed tomatoes

leaves from several stalks of cilantro, stems removed and lightly chopped

a bit of water if needed plus salt, pepper, and more cumin and coriander to taste

Check out that mise-en-place!

Method

1. In a very large pot, heat the oil and sauté the onion, sprinkling salt over everything to help purge the juices. Don’t let the onion brown.

2. Add in the garlic, jalapeño, chipotle, and seasonings and stir. Sauté briefly.

3. Add in the bell pepper, sprinkle salt over everything, stir, and sauté a few minutes until the pepper begins to soften.

4. Add in the zucchini, sprinkle salt over everything, stir, and sauté a few minutes until the zucchini begins to soften. (Are you sensing a theme here?)

5. Add in the tomato, sprinkle salt over everything, stir, and sauté a few minutes until the tomatoes begin to break down and make a paste.

6. Dump in all the beans plus the canned tomatoes and give everything a stir. Add additional water if necessary to get the correct consistency. Heat through.

7. Test for seasonings. At this point I always add more salt and cumin. Add in the cilantro. Let your chili simmer on low, stirring occasionally, until you’re ready for it. The longer the better!

The Customization

For the carnivores in the crowd, make some meat in a separate pan, which they can add to their chili:

1. Finely chop the other half of the small onion. Heat 2T vegetable oil in a large skillet and sauté the onion. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and ground cumin over everything and stir.

2. Add 1 pound (500gms) ground beef (80 percent lean makes for a better texture than 90 percent lean) to the onion mixture and brown, stirring to break up the lumps. Keep over low heat.

So now you have the chili on one burner, and the beef on the other. Near the stove, line up the following in bowls, which guests can add to their chili if they like:

5-10 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (depending on how many of your guests like spice), chopped until they become a paste

A mix of grated cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese

Lots of chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Quartered limes

Corn tortilla chips

The leftovers, in the unlikely event that there should be any, make great nachos: Put some chips in a bowl, top with a couple spoons of chili and one spoon of chipotle chilis (if desired), sprinkle cheese over everything, and zap in the microwave.

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How about you, readers? What’s your favorite recipe for summer? Please share your thoughts in the comments!

The Tidbit

Or, if you have extra time, you could always make this recipe, which my daughter found and which cracks me up every time I watch it. Tee hee: “Thus the serpent consumes its own tail.”