Homemade Vegetarian Chili
- 6 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 red pepper, cut into bitesize chunks
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
- 2 small onions or 1 big one
- fresh cilantro
- fresh oregano
- fresh basil (you don't need basil. I'm just a basil fan)
- cumin
- black beans (I'm lazy and use 2 cans of black beans. It's always better to soak your own)
- 1/2 can tomato paste
- chili powder (check ingredients!)
- oil
- salt to taste
1) Heat pan over med-hi. Coat bottom of the pan with oil. Add onions, red and green peppers, and perhaps jalapeño (the longer you cook jalapeños, the stronger they are apparently so keep this in mind).
2) Lightly salt. Add cumin and some chili powder. Stir and cook until onions start to look translucent.
3) Add garlic. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and black beans. Stir.
4) Add cilantro, oregano, and basil (you will have to experiment with the amounts to see what you prefer. I have listed them in the order of most to least to give you an idea). Stir.
5) Add more cumin, chili powder and the tomato paste.
Bring to a "boil" then lower to min heat. Cover and let simmer for as long as you can wait (at least an hour).
I like to add more fresh cilantro at the end to highlight the flavour (because I like cilantro). You'll have the best idea of what spices you need to add more of after it's had time to cook for a while. And as always, it tastes better the next day.
I like to freeze everything except a portion for the next day. I suggest freezing them in single serving sizes for easy access when you are starving and don't want to cook.
You could easily sneak apple cider vinegar into this recipe as well.
If you are feeling lazy, you can use 1/2 a can of crushed tomatoes instead of the plum tomatoes. Just make sure it has nothing added to it.
Also, did you notice I didn't use green peppers? They are harder on the tummy, and definitely make me bloated.