This Spicy 4 Bean Vegetarian Chili is extremely flavorful and hearty. The chipotles give it just enough of a smoky flavor. The roasted peppers add depth to the overall flavors.
If you read my last post, you would know that I had planned on doing an eleven-day cleanse. To be honest, it turned out to be a bit of a challenge to go the distance. I had been trying to no avail to find an eleven-day space on the calendar where I did not have any plans with family and friends.
So, I squeezed an eleven-day cleanse into eight and half days. Anyways, I am still super proud of myself and so grateful that I did not have to go the additional two and a half days! Robby loved the juice so much that we plan to do some random two-day cleanse in the near future together. Misery loves company. Now that the cleanse is over, I am craving comfort food like this yummy 4 Bean Chili.
Spicy 4 Bean Vegetarian Chili - CaliZona
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Dried White Beans
- 1 Cup Dried Black Beans
- 1 Cup Dried Red Beans
- 1 Cup Dried Anasazi or Orca - can sub any of the above
- 1/4 Cup plus 3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Red or White Onion – diced
- 3 Cloves Garlic – minced
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Oregano Leaves or 1 Teaspoon Dried
- 1/4 Dry Red or a Dry White Wine - optional but it does add depth
- 12 + 7 Cups Filtered Water
- 8 Large Tomatoes or 2 Jars of Strained Tomato Sauce
- 4 Dried Chipotle Peppers
- 4 Ancho Peppers or 4 Tablespoons ground- you can buy it already in powder form or de-stem and de-seed whole dried peppers and grind them in a coffee grinder until it turns to a powder
- 1 Dried Habanero Peppers - for mild replace with 1 ancho pepper
- 2 Poblano Peppers – roasted – diced
- 1 Red Bell Pepper – roasted – diced
- 2 Tablespoons White Vinegar
- 1 Cup Frozen Corn - optional
- 2 Tablespoons Paprika Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Oregano
- 2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
- 2 Teaspoons Cumin
- 3 Tablespoon Sea Salt or to taste
Instructions
Beans
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Soak the beans overnight.
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Add the beans to a 5 1/2 quart Dutch oven or large pot and add 12 cups of filtered water.
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Cover the beans and cook on medium-low heat until the beans are soft.
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About 1 1/2 hours. I can take longer, depending on how old the beans are.
Sauce
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Core the tomatoes and put into a large pot cover with water.
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Remove the stems and seeds from the dried peppers and add to the pot of tomatoes and bring to a boil.
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When skin of the tomatoes begins to crack, take them out with tongs and add to a colander. ( approx. 1 – 2 minutes)
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Let cool and remove the skins.
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Remove the peppers when they are soft.
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Put the tomatoes and chilies in a food processor or blender in batches and add the vinegar.
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Put a fine mesh sieve over a bowl, pour in the sauce and press thru then scrape the outsides of the sieve to get as much as you can.
Roasted peppers
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Roast peppers on the stovetop on medium-high heat. A gas stove works the best but it will work fine on an electric stove.
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Char the peppers on all sides turning with a pair of tongs. When good and charred, steam them for 10 minutes in a covered dish or a paper bag rolled shut to hold in the steam.
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Take a paper towel and rub off the char. It’s ok to leave a little of the char. Slice in half and remove the seeds and stems then dice them.
Assemble
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Add the onion and olive oil to a straight sided pan and sauté on medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
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Add the garlic and cook until garlic just start to brown.
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Add wine and cook until reduced and it has a syrupy consistency.
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Pour tomato sauce back into the pan and cook on medium-low heat.
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Add the fresh oregano and the quarter cup of olive oil. Cook until thickens about 20 minutes or longer
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When the beans are cooked add the sauce, diced peppers, corn and spices.
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Cook on medium low for 30 – 60 minutes or until desired thickness.
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Keep an eye on them and stir frequently.
Health benefits:
Black beans are high in cholesterol-lowering dietary fiber, 1 cup of cooked beans provides you with over 1/2 of your daily requirements and reduces blood cholesterol that helps prevent heart disease. The fiber supports the digestive tract and the colon, which helps constipation, diverticulitis and other gastrointestinal disorders. They also maintain normal blood sugar levels, helping to prevent diabetes. Black beans are a very good meat substitute because of their 15 grams of protein in 1 cup and contain only trace amounts of saturated fat and no cholesterol. They contain phytochemicals, substances found only in plant foods that help fight cancer and other chronic diseases. They increase energy with the good amounts of iron in them and have more antioxidant activity than other types of beans. They neutralize cell-damaging free radicals that may help lower the risk of heart disease, cancer, and other diseases. Black beans are also rich in B vitamins, Folate, potassium (helps regulate your blood pressure and heart rate), magnesium, calcium (builds and maintains bones) and other heart-healthy nutrients.
White Beans are a super source of dietary fiber, which is good for the prevention of constipation, also helps digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome and diverticulosis. They are great for heart health because of their significant amounts of folate (support of red blood cell formation, one cup of the cooked beans provides 63.7% of the recommended daily intake for folate) and magnesium (lowers blood pressure). They are good for helping insulin resistance, hypoglycemia or diabetes, and help you balance blood sugar levels while providing steady energy.
