lamb, lentil, and white bean chili.

What a week.   

I've been a ball of emotions and I imagine I will continue to be for sometime.  At this moment in time, I am most upset and appalled about the stories of outright racism that has cropped up in our country over the last 36 hours. This is not OK.  We should not be OK with this.  No one should be threatened because of their ethnicity, the color of their skin, their religious beliefs, or for being LGBT.  No one should be bullied or told they are less than a person because they aren't white and because they aren't born in this country.  This breaks my heart.

I started this blog almost 5 years ago because I wanted a place to share recipes for delicious food with others. At the end of the day, food brings people together.  I was raised in a family that valued the importance of sitting together and sharing a meal with one another.   At the table we talked and laughed and ate and it was a way to feel connected at the end of each day.  I think now more than ever, it's important to feel connected to one another.   To understand the point of view of others and to try and figure out how to relate to one another.   People will always have differing opinions from you but having constructive conversations, educating yourself, and finding common ground is the key.  To me, food is common ground.   

As we head into Thanksgiving and the December holidays, I'm going to use this space to include recipes that are about sharing (expect lots of cookie recipes).  Now is the time to be kind and giving.  To have an open mind and to make others feel included.  To say Thank You (Thank You Veterans for all you do).  Go out into your community, go to festivals, go to your place of worship (if you have one) and eat a meal with others.  I'm kicking things off with chili because we could all use comfort food right now (Am I right?!).   This is a riff on the classic beef chili but with lamb and lentils.   The combination of lamb, lentils, and white beans results in an earthy and filling dish that warms your belly.  I encourage you to make a pot this weekend, invite some people over, have a couple of beers, and enjoy the company of others.           

Lamb, Lentil, and White Bean Chili
Recipe adapted from the NYTimes

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound ground lamb
 Kosher salt and black pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
2 poblano peppers, seeded and diced (or 2 small green bell peppers)
1 small bunch cilantro, cleaned
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 small jalapeños, seeded, if desired, and finely chopped
3 tablespoons chile powder, plus more to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups cooked white beans (homemade or canned)
1 cup dried lentils
Juice of 1 lime, plus more for serving
Plain yogurt, preferably sheep’s milk or feta, for serving (or both if you are like me)
Lime wedges, for serving

Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the lamb and cook, breaking up with a fork, until well browned, 5 minutes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Transfer meat to a paper towel-lined plate.

Add the onion and poblano peppers. Cook until the vegetables are softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Finely chop 2 tablespoons of the cilantro stems and add to the pot. Stir in the garlic and jalapeño and cook 2 minutes. Add the chile powder, coriander and cumin, and cook 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until it begins to turn brown.

Return the lamb to the pot. Stir in 5 cups water, the beans, lentils, lime juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Simmer over medium-low heat for 45 minutes; add more water if the chili becomes too thick. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Ladle into bowls, and top with a dollop of yogurt (or some feta) and a squeeze of lime. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.

vegetarian dried-bean chili.

It seems that February is keen on exhibiting polar vortex like tendencies which normally I don't mind but if I have discovered anything these past couple of weeks, it's that work pants are not designed to withstand sub-arctic temperatures.   By the time I return home, my goal is to thaw myself in front of our oven (since someone is keen on making it his goal to see if we can avoid ever turning on the heat).  The oven has turned into my own personal heater which mean's I've been very into braises, roasts, and long simmering dishes like chili.   

A few months back I discovered Rancho Gordo and basically fell head over heels for their beans. I ordered a few bags and then, when Tyler and I were out in California for our Honeymoon, I stumbled across their shop in the San Francisco Ferry Market Plaza.  I may have purchased several pounds of beans and loaded our suitcases with them. Thankfully they returned home unscathed.   As someone who eats minimal amounts of meat, beans (and eggs!) are my go-to sources of protein so you can only imagine my delight at discovering this heirloom bean shop.  I've been making all sorts of bean dishes (soups! on toast!) but chili was something I had yet to tackle.  

If you are purebred Texan, the idea of vegetarian chili probably sounds like blasphemy but if you are from the North where chili can include beans (and still be called chili) this probably sounds rather delightful.  Beans are cooked slow and low in a myriad of spices and crushed tomatoes to produce a full-bodied chili that tastes meaty without including a lick of meat.  It's flavorful and comforting and the kind of thing that begs to be served during a February polar-vortex-esq snow storm.  Best of all the chili tastes better the longer it sits, so day 3 of eating chili is even better then day 1 (WIN-WIN).   

Vegetarian Dried-Bean Chili

Recipe adapted and inspired by here and here.   

If you are inspired to make your own chili powder (and I encourage you to do so), this guide is awesome.  

This is the "when I have a whole day to make chili" dish.  If you are looking for a quick-cooking (canned bean) chili, this is the one I recommend.   

Serves 4-6

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped small
1 to 2 peppers of your choice (I personally love poblano’s but bell peppers will work), finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 chipotle chilies in adobo, chopped + 2 tablespoons chipotle chili sauce

1 teaspoons hot sauce (plus more at the end if you choose)

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons table salt or 2 ½ teaspoons kosher or coarse salt
1 12-ounce bottle beer
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, fire-roasted if you can find them
1 1/2 cups mixed dried beans (pinto and black beans are my beans of choice)
3 1/2 to 4 cups water

2 tablespoons masa (if desired)

To serve: Lime wedges, sour cream, diced white onion, hot sauce, cilantro, corn or flour tortillas or tortilla chips or rice, cheese, avocado

Heat oil in the bottom of a medium-sized heavy pot or Dutch oven.  Once warm, add onion and cook for 5 minutes, until translucent. Add any fresh peppers and cook for 3 more minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano and salt and cook for 2 minutes, until browned and deeply fragrant. Add beer and scrape up any bits stuck to the pot. Boil until reduced by half.

Add tomatoes, dried beans, chipotle chiles (and sauce), hot sauce, apple cider vinegar, and the smaller amount of water. Bring mixture to a full boil and boil for one minute, then reduce heat to a very low, gentle simmer, place a lid on your pot, and cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until the beans are tender, stirring occasionally. Add the last 1/2 cup water if mixture seems to be getting dry, though I didn’t need it in most of my tested batches. If a slightly more sloshy chili wouldn’t bother you, you can add it from the get-go.  Stir in the masa if you want your chili a little thicker.

Store in the fridge for up to a week (best eaten the day after it is made).  Can also be frozen!