Opening a couple cans of tomatoes and beans and dumping a bunch of powdered spices into a pot and calling it chili never appealed to me, so my first challenge when I started developing this recipe a few years ago was to not use any powdered spices. The canned elements kinda made sense, so I didn’t stress that angle, but I felt like the flavor should come from somewhere besides chili powder. The power of a stick blender to combine soft vegetables into a soup cannot be overstated and using a small home grill gives plenty of smoky flavor to the fresh chilis that blending them with caramelized onions and tomato paste really gives this chili a nice, lasting, complex heat. Afford your fresh peppers a pretty good char, steamed in a plastic bag/dressed with a grapefruit spoon method cleanly removes all the seeds, stems and the bulk of the skins as well as those burned bits along with ’em. Being patient with the caramelizing stage is important, we are developing glutamates with vegetables (which ain’t always easy) and while a blast of tomato paste toward the end of that step helps, it’s the time and care you take with the caramelizing of the onions that will really create the layers of flavor those ingredients are capable of providing.
2 whole onions, diced
1 full head of garlic, minced
2 cups veggie broth
4+ lbs fresh chilis – 8+ jalapenos, 4+ poblanos and a few Anaheims
3 cans crushed tomatoes
2 cans black beans
1 can kidney beans
2 cans corn
1 can tomato paste
1/2 TBSP cumin
1 TBSP paprika
1 TBSP smoked paprika
1 TBSP onion powder
1 TBSP garlic powder
salt to taste
Start the grill to roast the chilis and begin caramelizing the diced onions. Use coconut or another oil (bacon fat, if not going vegan) and use water to deglaze the pan till they are translucent; employing the stock and adding the garlic toward the end of the process. When the chilis have a good amount of char on the outside, seal them in a plastic bag and allow to steam for like 10-15 minutes, this step makes removing the skins a LOT easier. Dress the chilis using a paring knife and a grapefruit spoon, removing the stem, the seeds and the skins. Toast spices with the caramelizing mix, combine with chilis and hit it with a stick blender in a separate container. Drop those crushed tomatoes into the big pot and bring to temp, then add strained beans and the chili/onion mixture. Allow to simmer for an hour or until the tomatoes have reduced and it starts to resemble a stew, then add the corn. Give it another 20+ minutes to reduce and serve.
My ideal toppings are a generous amount of basmati or plain white rice, a big hunk of shredded cheese, lots of sour cream, thinly sliced fresh chives and fried onions – but do what makes you happy. To make a meat version I grill a couple burgers after I grill the peppers and add the cooked, crumbled meat just before the corn. I start roasting the peppers while the grill is still warming up, so it makes a better use of the coals, but more importantly this effectively skips the browning/straining stages of the meat on a stove top version. Just don’t forget to salt and pepper the patties to keep the beef from being bland. So much flavor comes from the chilis and the onions (provided you’ve properly caramelized the veggie stock into them) that the meat part is actually a tertiary aspect – yes, it adds texture and protein, but it doesn’t really need either.