Vegetarian Chili

 
Meatless Chili with bulgur wheat.

Meatless Chili with bulgur wheat.

I make pots of soup, chili, stew regularly. Like so much so my family has asked me for dry food. They aren’t here today so I whipped this together for my dinner. Also, they don’t like beans so I go a little beany when cooking only for me.

VEGTARIAN CHILI

This makes only 4 servings, but doubles easily

1 tablespoon oil

1 onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 bell pepper, yellow, green or red, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon of chipotle in adobo*, minced

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 15 ounce can kidney beans

1 28 ounce can tomato puree

1 tablespoon tomato paste*

2 cups ish of water

1 teaspoon honey

1/4 cup bulgur wheat

In a pot, sauté the onion in oil. When translucent add the celery, garlic and pepper. When soft add the spices and salt. Let those get fragrant but not burn. Add the canned beans, tomato puree, and honey. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook 1 hour. Turn the heat to as low as your burner goes. Add the bulgur, cover and sit 30 minutes. Stir after adding the bulgur a few times to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Serve with sour cream, cheese, avocado, corn chips, green onions.

*When you open a can of chipotle in adobo sauce or tomato paste you typically don’t use it all. Put the remainder in a zip closed bag, squish it flat, and score the product into sizes you’ll use. Freeze. When you need it again just take a portion to add to your future dish.