Santa Cruz Chili Cook-off

Vegetarian Chili from Chili Cook-off

This is our vegetarian chili from the Annual Santa Cruz Boardwalk Chili Cook-off

 chili in cup

I bought my beans from Rancho Gordo through their website, you can substitute beans, but these are the best!

rancho gordo red beans

Makes 1 ½ gallons chili
Prep/cooking time: 2 hours

Ingredients

  • 1pound Sangre de Toro red beans
  • 1 pound Midnight black beans
  • ½ pound Alubia Blana white beans
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 3 onions
  • 8 cloves garlic
  • 2 serrano peppers
  • ½ Krimson Lee pepper, some seeds
  • ½ cayenne pepper, some seeds
  • 6 carrots
  • 2 bell peppers, green
  • 12-15 mushrooms
  • 2 corn on the cob, or 1 ½ cups frozen if out of season.
  • ¾ – 15 oz can tomato sauce
  • 4 tomatoes
  • ¼ cup chopped parsley
  • 2 tablespoon oregano
  • 1 tablespoon thyme
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 teaspoons
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • sour cream
  • grated cheddar cheese
  • thinly sliced green onions

Directions

  1. Cook the beans:
    Rinse beans, cook black beans separately. Place them in a pot with 5 cups water and one whole peeled garlic clove. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover pot and simmer for 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally and adding and additional cup or so of water as needed. Place the red beans in a second pot, adding 8 cups water and 2 cloves garlic. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover. At this point, watch a timer and cook 15 minutes. Then add the white beans, replace lid and cook for 1½ hours. Taste beans for softness and remove from flame when they are done. Save the liquid from the red and white beans. Rinse the black beans in a colander, draining the black liquid. Add to pot with other beans. Set aside.
  2. Prepare the vegetables:
    Peel and press the remaining garlic, set aside. Chop the onions, carrots, bell peppers, and mushrooms into small cubes. Slice the carrots diagonally and again quarterly then cut. Slice the mushrooms into small cubes also. Cut the corn from the cob. Chop the tomatoes into small cubes.
  3. Prepare the chiles:
    When cutting peppers, be careful not to touch your eyes or face, and clean cutting board well when finished. Slice the serranos into thin rings, then dice. Cut off the top of the cayenne pepper, then slice open diagonally. Remove about half the seeds, and mince the pepper with the remaining seed. Cut the top off the Fresno pepper, slice in half. Remove seeds. Dice half the pepper, saving the other half. You may adjust the amount of peppers you add to increase or decrease the hotness. The seeds are the hottest part of the pepper, so add more or less as desired. The chili will mellow overnight in the fridge and be less spicy.
  4. Cooking the chili, putting it all together:
    1. In a large 2 gallon pot, add the canola oil and turn heat to medium high. Wait about 2 minutes, then add the garlic, stir briefly and add the onions. Cook until the onions begin to turn translucent, about 3 minutes.
    2. Then add the bell peppers and carrots, stirring.
    3. Add the oregano, thyme, chili powder, cumin, bay leaves and chopped chiles. Continue to cook about 3 minutes, until carrots begin to soften. Adjust heat as needed.
    4. Add mushrooms and cook about 3 minutes.
    5. Add rinsed black beans, and red/white beans with liquid being careful to not make chili too wet. If necessary add additional water or if red/white beans are too wet, do not add all the liquid.
    6. Add the salt, pepper, tomato sauce and fresh chopped tomatoes. Simmer all for 15 to 30 minutes more, lid off.

     

 

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One Comment

  1. I’m adding some garlic salt instead of garlic cloves, hope it’s fine, as I don’t wanna use garlic here directly…