I hesitate in summertime to do beans from dry because I don’t want to simmer anything for an hour in this heat! (I am sure a slow-cooker would be a solution, but I don’t have one and don’t have room for one). So, it’s cans for me, and if they have a pull-off top, even better. I want to minimize all movement in the Hazy, Hot, Humidity of a Long Island summer (Ditto for wine bottles…a screw top is high up on my ratings rubric right now; corks take too much work!)
In fact, I want to keep cooking to a minimum, so rather than season my ground beef or even have to defrost and simmer the pre-made stuff I have stocked in the freezer, my “chili” has gone vegetarian. I call it “chili” because I add chili powder, but I make no claims to authenticity. If you want to call it rice and beans with chili seasoning, by all means do. “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” to quote a certain lovelorn 13-year-old from Verona.
Whatever you call it, it will be ready to eat in about 15 minutes, and I call that fast!
Vegetarian Chili (or rice and beans with chili powder!)
1 Tbs olive oil
½ medium onion, chopped fine (about 1/2 Cup)
½ medium red bell pepper chopped fine (about 1/2 Cup)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping Tbs tomato paste
15.5 oz can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp chile powder
2 tsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp thyme
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
Salt to taste
Heat olive oil at medium-high in a saucepan until loose and fragrant. Add onions, stir to coat and reduce heat to medium. Add red pepper and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes, or until vegetables are translucent and soft. Add tomato paste, stir in to coat and cook for a minute. Stir in beans, oregano, chile powder, cilantro, thyme, red pepper flakes and bay leaf. Add ½ Cup water (more, if you want it more liquid) and cook for 15-20 minutes. Salt to taste and serve with white rice or wrapped in tortillas with cheese, shredded lettuce, salsa and all that fun Mexican restaurant-type stuff.
Hot, Cheap & Easy 
I love pulses, so even a vegetable menu gets me interested 😉
I like the firm texture when cooked from dry, so I use a pressure cooker – it’s a one hour soak in boiling water and 15 minutes cooking time. Not quite a quick as a tin, but not too bad.
Total agreement on texture. I really must get a pressure cooker…but where will I put it!!!
Total agreement on texture. I really must get a pressure cooker…but where will I put it!!! (Considered saying “tin” rather than “can” but I’m in America now!)
Yeah, my chilli went veggie with tinned beans this week in the heat too! Like you, maybe it’s not actually chilli, but more chilli-ed up veggies, either way – yum!
Absolutely, Rachael. The tin is the way to go for me right now….Keep it cool and thanks for visiting!