Time for chili!
Forget that it’s summer and about to be 100 degrees everyday (at least here in Texas where I live)!! It’s the perfect time for some hot comfort food! Haha.
This recipe is a total winner and also super easy. And by super easy, I mean you barely have to do any work and can buy most of the ingredients ready to go at Trader Joe’s. If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you, I think all of these ingredients could be duplicated between your regular old grocery store and maybe a health food store. Let’s dive in! This is one of my all time favorite dishes.
You can go two ways with this recipe. Normally I make enough for about three bowls- one for me, another for me the next day, and one gigantic bowl for my 6’3″ boyfriend. This week I made it much bigger and just by doubling my usual recipe, we enjoyed chili as leftovers at least 6 times (does that sound excessive to you? YOU HAVEN’T TRIED THIS STUFF YET!! You’ll get it once you’ve made it.)
With that said, here is what you need to make about 4 normal sized bowls full. If you want to make more, add a can of black beans in addition and double the rest.
-1 can of fire roasted tomatoes
-1 can of red kidney beans
-1 package of Soyrizo (I can only speak to the one from Trader Joe’s, but this stuff is vegan, delicious, and not too spicy or oily)
-1 yellow onion
-1 shallot (you can skip this but I’ll add shallots wherever I can in life)
-Zucchini
-A variety of spices: cumin seeds, smoked sweet paprika, ground cumin, salt, pepper, sugar, brown sugar, crushed red pepper
First: Toast the cumin seeds in a large pan with some coconut oil. Then add the finely chopped onion and shallot. Add about one to two teaspoons of each spice except the sugars, salt, and pepper. Cook the onion and shallot until clear.
Second: In a pot, add the drained beans, canned tomatoes, and half the tube of soyrizo. Allow to simmer while you cook the onions.
Third: As the onions cook, add more seasonings, a sprinkle of brown and white sugar, and a dash of salt. It is important that the onions taste REALLY good since soyrizo can only go so far in flavoring plain beans and tomatoes. They should taste to strong when you test them, which will be perfect when mixed with the rest.
Fourth: Prepare some brown rice. I’m lazy and always use microwaveable brown rice. You can skip this step entirely. I just like rice in my chili to keep me full longer.
Fifth: When the onions are a few minutes away from being nice and done, add some thinly sliced zucchini coins to the pan. Allow them to cook until they look almost grilled and are ready to be mixed in. This is also optional, but I love to get some greens in an unexpected way in this dish.
Finally, when the onions and zucchini are done cooking, add them into the pot with the chili and stir. Serve while hot with some corn chips (like Fritos but not terrible for you) from TJ’s. Cornbread is also good. Just a fork works too.
I hope you try this recipe and enjoy it! Let me know what you think. And let me know if you think chili in July is nuts.
-Taylor
TAYLOR DOROTHY 