Do-It-Yourself Chilli

I’m calling this Do-It-Yourself, because this isn’t so much a recipe as it is a list of flavors, and directions for what I did.  Chilli is one of those things that everyone and their uncle has their own way of doing, and I don’t want to interfere with anyone’s family traditions. 

The essence of chilli is ::drumroll please:: chilli powder!  Cumin also plays a major role, as do tomatoes and beans.  Ground meat is key for those who aren’t vegetarian, but the type of meat is up to you…beef is common; we used pork; venison, lamb, or turkey could also be delicious.  Vegetarian chilli can also be delicious: peppers, zucchini and corn are a few possible ingredients that come to mind.

Here are the directions for our chilli:

I started off by sauteeing a chopped onion and some garlic in vegetable oil.  When the onion started to go transparent, I added chilli powder (the amount depends on how hot you want it, and how hot your chilli powder is) and cumin.  After a bit I added some tomato paste and kept sauteeing.  Once it had reached a nice gloopy consistency, I added the pork, and sauteed it until it was no longer red and was nicely coated with the spices.  Then I added some creamed tomatoes and water to give it a soupy consistency, added some chopped tomatoes and bell peppers, and the beans which had been pre-soaked overnight.  We used a mixture of black beans and butter beans, and it was delicious, but kidney beans are traditional.  The trick now is to let it simmer for a good long while…ours cooked for six-ish hours.  You want everything to look fairly gloopy.

Let us know if you come up with some great additions to the basic recipe!

Have fun!
-Emma