Sunday Dinner: Secret-Ingredient Veggie Chili

It’s currently a blistering cold -12°C with the wind chill in Toronto. In fact, Environment Canada has issued a wind warning as it’s so howlingly ferocious that Erin’s evergreen trees, planted in huge containers with a cement base, fell over from the pointed gusts of Old Man Winter’s fury. The poor things will have to stay that way until spring as Erin will not put herself in the line of frost bite.

Next week does not promise to look any better as the forecast is calling for -10°C weather to kick things off and it will just get colder from there.

It’s time to pull out the old stock pot, and make a big bowl of something warm and comforting.

Erin has been making vegetarian chili since her days at the University of Guelph, when she would while away many an evening at the now-defunct bohemian coffee shop, The Meridian. They had the best veg chili, and at only $6, it fit her pauper student lifestyle quite nicely.

In those days she still couldn’t cook (she didn’t learn how until our mom visited, and, upon opening the cupboard to find it lined with Kraft Dinner, started crying and demanded Erin move back home. In Erin’s defence, it went on sale for 18 cents a box at the Bargain! Bargain! Bargain! store – a steal we haven’t seen since).

But one day, after The Day Erin Made Our Mom Cry, she saw The Meridian’s recipe featured in a local paper. Tearing it out, she cut her culinary teeth, so to speak, on this recipe. Not knowing the difference between a clove and bulb of garlic, it was rough going, but this now-family-favourite recipe is proof positive that practice does indeed make perfect.

So fast forward a few, ahem, years. Erin’s cooking skills have increased a tad, and she’s still making the vegetarian chile. While it’s likely far removed from The Meridian’s version, like all good go-to recipes, it’s developed into her own creation, as somewhere along the way she added a pinch of this and that, and did away with things she no longer cared for.

Part of what makes this so good is a few “secret” ingredients she began adding to create a heartier, “meatier” veggie chili, including chocolate and coffee of all things, and the ever-present red wine to the steaming pot of healthy, stick-to-your ribs comfort. This version also adds walnuts for a dose of heart-healthy fats and an extra boost of protein.

Erin’s Veggie Chili

serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 red onion, chopped
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 large parsnips (or you can substitute 1 parsnip for 1 carrot), chopped
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 cup raw walnuts, chopped
• 1.5 Tbsp chili powder
• .5 Tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp hot or sweet paprika, depending on taste
• 1 Tbsp salt, or to taste
• .5 Tbsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp ground corriander
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 2 tsp oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 1.5 Tbsp raw cacao (nibs or powder, whatever you have is fine)
• 1 Tbsp instant espresso (you can also throw in .5 – 1 cup of brewed coffee if you have that on hand)
• 1 cup red wine
• 4 cups veggie stock, more if needed
• 2 cups cooked black beans (you can use a 540 ml. can if that’s what you have on hand)
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, ribs & seeds removed, diced (optional)
• 1-2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce, vegan or regular (optional)
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 10 mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup corn

Method

1. Heat oil in a large stock pot set over medium heat
2. When oil is hot add onion, celery and parsnip. Saute until onion has some colour and celery & parsnip is soft approx 5 minutes
3. Add in garlic and saute another minute or so
4. Add in walnuts and spices, stir to coat and continue to cook until spices become fragrant, being careful not to let them burn
5. Deglaze with red wine, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pot
6. Add in veggie stock, tomato puree, peppers and beans. Cover and simmer over medium-low for 30 minutes or so
7. Add in zucchini, corn and mushrooms, simmer another 10 minutes or so, until mushrooms are soft
8. Add in vinegar and Worcestershire if using. Taste and adjust seasonings

To Serve

Top with grated cheese, chopped avocado, sliced green onion, fresh coriander and/or a dollop of sour cream

Wine Pairing

You want to avoid high-alcohol, high-tannic wines with spicy dishes, as those elements can just exacerbate the spice of the dish, leaving it firey, but tasteless. This chili also gets a lot of flavour from the cacao, coffee & walnuts, which lend a deep, meatier taste and texture, so we opted for a red wine that would pair that would compliment those ingredients. We chose a Portuguese red blend made with some of the grapes used in Port – a sweet, rich fortified red with flavours of nuts, dark berries, chocolate and raisins.

Quinta dos Quatro Ventos Colheita, Douro, Portugal 2008

$24.95 (on sale at Erin’s local LCBO $20) Vintages 902742
Deep purple ruby, this has a nose that is initially fairly tight, but opens in time to reveal cassis, dark cherry, wet clay and an uplifting menthol note. Medium bodied and rich on the palate with fine, grippy tannins and elevated acidity. Well balanced and soft, with flavours of earth/clay, cassis, smoke and subtle cooking spice notes. Very elegant.