Spicy Vegetarian Chili

Submitted by Thomas:

 

Our ward has an annual chili cook-off, with three categories: most original, spiciest, and best overall. When we moved here, I won most original with my chicken and black bean chili. This year, I won spiciest.

 

Mine was the only vegetarian chili (and there are enough meat-a-tarians in the ward that a meatless chili could never win best overall), but there were several non-members invited, some of whom were vegetarian, so I'm glad I did it this way.

The original recipe is quite toned down, but very good, and I've included it below.

1 lb eggplant, cubed (1")
2 yellow onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium zucchini, chopped
2 large red bell peppers, cored, seeded, diced
1–2 jalapeño peppers
1 28-oz. can Italian tomatoes, coarsely chopped, including liquid (or 2 lbs fresh plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped)
1 Tbs ground cumin
1–2 Tbsp chili powder
2 T chopped fresh oregano or 2t dried
1 tsp coriander*
1½ cup cooked white beans (1 15oz can, drained, rinsed)
1½ cup cooked kidney beans (1 15oz can, drained, rinsed)
Zest of one lemon
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley)
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

* Original recipe calls for fennel seeds rather than coriander, and (as done here) is light on chili peppers
** For less spicy chili, seed jalapeños. For spicier chili (and to be honest, two seeded jalapeños isn't enough for a decent chili), keep seeds, and add combination of several jalapeño, serrano, red chili, and/or habanero peppers. (Which is how I won spiciest. Well, that and some marketing; calling it "Napalm Chili" and adding a warning sign to the front of the pot won me several votes from wimps who don't eat spicy food.)

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Scatter eggplant cubes in a shallow roasting pan and slather w/ 2 Tbs olive oil. Cover with foil & bake for ~30 min, stirring once. Remove from the oven and set aside.
2. In a large (5-6 quart) thick-bottomed Dutch oven, heat 3 Tbs olive oil on medium heat. Add onions, cook until translucent (~4 min). Add garlic and cook until fragrant (~1 min). Add red bell peppers, zucchini, and jalapeño chili peppers (and other peppers, if used). Cook for about 5 more min, stirring occasionally.
3. Add tomatoes, along with any liquid (if using canned). Add oregano, cumin, chili powder & coriander. Stir in the eggplant cubes. Simmer ~20 min over low heat.
4. Add white beans & kidney beans, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, and chopped cilantro. Salt and pepper to taste. (For hotter chili, also add white pepper and/or red pepper flakes.) Simmer ~5 min.

 

Serve w/ blue corn chips, sour cream (or greek yogurt), grated cheddar cheese, and chopped green onions. Serves 8-10.

Source: Adapted from http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/spicy_vegetarian_chili/

(Submitted by Thomas)