Ya know, I’ve never been a huge fan of Chili, but it was one of those days where groceries were running low and I had to get creative. Luckily my mom just got me a huge bag of mixed peas, lentils and beans (Gotta love costco), and I thought it was time to give chili another chance. I’m glad I did.
1 1/2 cup dried bean mixture. You can use any beans you want: kidney beans, black beans etc..
Chop the onion into small pieces and throw them in your dutch oven with a couple splashes of olive oil on low heat. Cook until the onions are translucent and then add the beans and vegetable broth/water. With dried beans you really should soak them over night. It greatly reduces the cooking time..but I didn’t plan ahead so I soaked mine for an hour and they cooked just fine. Bring the water/beans to a boil for 10 minutes and then cover the dutch oven and reduce to low heat. Check on the mixture periodically. When the beans are soft, we are ready to move onto the next step.
When the beans are soft chop up your fresh tomato into small-ish pieces and throw it in. Next, add the canned whole tomatoes. Stir this mixture for about 10 minutes, and be sure to pop the whole tomatoes with whatever you’re using to stir, it’s fun. Now add the tomato paste and all the spices listed above. Season to taste, start with a teaspoon of each and then taste your chili and see if you need more. Now let this chili simmer on really low heat for at least an hour so it thickens and the spices are able to soak into the chili. If you want to simmer it for longer just be sure to cover it so it doesn’t thicken too much.
I topped mine with some tempeh maple “bacon” and a crusty baguette. Mmmm.