Best of 2011 | Chili!!

TEXT by Jonathan MacKay | PHOTOGRAPHS by Jonathan (Pure Green Magazine's Food Editor) describes this vegetarian chili as his favourite recipe of all time. Perfect for coming home to after a chilly winter day, this is the type of dish where you cook a huge batch and enjoy the spoils for days on end, OR, dish it up in appropriate serving sizes and toss in the freezer (this is our version of 'fast food' - for those nights when you really don't feel like cooking simply defrost and enjoy). This dish is purely vegetarian but it's hearty enough that even the most die-hard meat eater in your life won't complain. So, without further ado, click on the download link at the end of this article, hit print, take a trip to the grocery store and make this!! You'll love it!

Jonathan's Favourite Veggie Chili

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Jonathan (Pure Green Magazine's Food Editor) describes this vegetarian chili as his favourite recipe of all time. Perfect for coming home to after a chilly winter day, this is the type of dish where you cook a huge batch and enjoy the spoils for days on end, OR, dish it up in appropriate serving sizes and toss in the freezer (this is our version of 'fast food' - for those nights when you really don't feel like cooking simply defrost and enjoy). This dish is purely vegetarian but it's hearty enough that even the most die-hard meat eater in your life won't complain. So, without further ado, click on the download link at the end of this article, hit print, take a trip to the grocery store and make this!! You'll love it! (This recipe was originally shown in Issue 4; to see a sneak peek of our current issue click here; to see more Best of 2011 entries click here - we're adding one new post per week!)

Total Time - Approximately 3 hours

Serves 12

INGREDIENTS

1 pint mushrooms
2 zucchini
1 cup corn
6 lg. carrots
4 parsnips
2 lg. Spanish onions
6 cloves of garlic * Adjust to suit your taste
2 gr. peppers * Adjust to suit your taste
1 red/yellow pepper * Adjust to suit your taste
2 cans kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 Tbsp dried chilies, or 1 fresh
4 cans diced tomatoes
1 cup. texturized vegetable protein (tvp)
4 tbsp. chili powder
2 tbsp coriander
1 tbsp cumin
4 tbsp basil
2 tbsp oregano
5 bay leaves
pepper, to taste
sea salt, to taste

METHOD

Lightly sautée veggies in 4L pot with olive or grapeseed oil, adding garlic near the end. Add tomatoes with the juice, beans drained and rinsed, tvp and spices. Bring to a boil, add salt, then let simmer, stirring frequently, until starts to thicken slightly. Taste frequently and adjust spice if need be – more chilies for heat, more salt if bland, more tomatoes if too thick or too strong, more chili powder if not strong enough. *Be careful with chili powder, it takes a while for the flavour to come out.

Garnish with fresh cilantro, shredded white cheddar and a grilled avocado.

Serve with fresh crusty white bread slathered with butter.

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Recipe created by Jonathan MacKay. Photographed by Ever Images.

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