Vegetarian Chilli with Black Beans & Hominy

Tags

black beans, C, Christmas Eve party, cooking with cocoa, family traditions, food blogging, green tomatoes, hominy, pozole, Texas chilli, veggie chilli

“Hominy beans ya want?” “Hominy math problems ya got left ta do?”  “Hominy” has been one of our favorite words around here since I made the Chicken and Green Tomato Pozole.  I needed a large can of hominy to finish the stew since pozole traditionally contains hominy,  so my husband stopped on his way home from work for me one day to pick some up.  He was very helpful and brought home two large cans since I hadn’t specified the amount I needed.  So there sat another can.  When I decided to make a large pot of vegetarian chilli I knew the hominy would be just the thing to bulk it up and keep everyone from missing the meat.

I make “real” chilli for Christmas Eve dinner with stuffed mushrooms and Red Velvet Cake along with other goodies.  This was the menu I grew up enjoying for our family Christmas Eve get together.  It’s not Christmas to me without those key dishes.  The problem is that chilli any other time of year tastes like Christmas.  I rarely make it.  When I first married and moved away from home, however, I  made a lot of vegetarian chilli.  It was always lacking in flavor and texture.  Our Texan friends were horrified to learn that we frequently enjoyed meatless chilli.  They insisted that chilli should be made with Grade A prime steak and nothing else.  I didn’t disclose the fact that when I did make it with meat I used ground beef.  I didn’t figure they could use a second shock.

This was definitely the best pot of vegetarian chilli I have ever made.  There’s something about blogging and “showing your work” that drives you to put extra care and attention into everything you cook.  Some things flop and never make it off the drawing board, others are so close to what I imagined that I try again if it wasn’t “perfect” the first time, others effortlessly come together and are beautiful in the end.  My favorite part of blogging is that now I have a record of everything I make that’s of any importance to refer to when I want to make the dish again.  We are ending up with some family favorites for that reason and my kids love to go to the blog to find their favorite blog foods so I can make them.  Cinnabiscuits and Black Gold Fudge are what they usually ask for, but seriously, those dishes are heart attacks waiting to happen so they can’t be recreated very often.  I used to worry a lot that if I was blogging, my food had to be fabulous.  When my son told me the other day that when he grows up he wants to cook from my blog and that he is glad he will have all of our recipes written down, I realized the plus side to all of my hard work.  I am elated when readers comment and praise my recipes; delirious when someone says they used one of my ideas.  I think, “Really?!!”  But that is nothing compared to the idea of my children wanting to cook from their mom’s recipes in their own homes.  I love traditions and starting them is something that makes parenting even more fun.  And, heaven forbid, I don’t have the opportunity to live to a ripe old age, my kids will still have a bit of me in my blogging.

Ingredients:

3 cloves of garlic, minced

3 c. yellow onions, large dice

1 1/2 c. leeks, sliced

2 c. celery sliced

2 1/2 c. roasted corn, cut from the cob

1/2 c. red bell pepper, medium dice

1 c. yellow bell pepper, medium dice

1 c. green bell pepper, medium dice

3 T extra virgin olive oil

4 c. tomato puree

3 c. water

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

2 T chilli powder

1 T cumin

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 T dark cocoa

2 jalapeno peppers, seeds and ribs removed and minced

32 oz. hominy, canned

4 cups cooked black beans

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat the oil in the bottom of a large stock pot.  Saute the garlic until translucent.  Add the onions, leeks, celery, peppers, and corn.

Saute until tender.  Add the tomato puree and water.

Bring to a simmer.  Add 2 tsp. salt, pepper, chilli powder, cumin, cinnamon, cocoa, and jalapeno peppers.

 

Cook on a low simmer for 3 to 5 hours.  The longer the better for the flavors to meld.

Add the black beans and hominy.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat through and serve.

Note: This is pretty mild chilli.

 

 

 

Chicken and Green Tomato Pozole

Tags

cumin, fresh cilantro, green tomatoes, hominy, Mexican, pepitas, pozole, pre-Columbian, slow cooker, toasted pumpkin seeds

According to Wikipedia, a pozole is a “pre-Columbian stew from Mexico”.   For as long as I can remember I have been interested in history and the origins of certain dishes.   I am fascinated by anything “pre-Columbian” so this one was right up my alley.

For those of you who are slow cooker lovers, this would be simple using skinless, boneless chicken breasts cooked in the poaching liquid, the remaining ingredients added at the end.  I don’t like doing things the easy way all of the time and don’t feel as if I can learn anything by dumping a bunch of ingredients in a pot and flipping a switch so I really enjoyed making this dish the traditional way and the end result was flavorful and unique.  The spiciness was a little weak, however, as the peppers had simmered away most of their heat.  The next time I will add them closer to the end of the cooking process so they can retain a little of their kick or use some minced as a garnish.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, portioned

4 cloves of garlic, whole

1 large onion, cut into wedges

2 bay leaves

4 c. of chicken stock

2 c. of water

2 tsp. salt

10 peppercorns

1/2 tsp. cumin

2 oz. toasted pumpkin seeds (may be found under the name “pepita”)

3 cloves minced garlic

2 c. diced green tomatoes

2 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, minced

1 onion, diced

3 T extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. coriander

Salt

1 T fresh cilantro leaves

20 oz. can of hominy

Method:

In a large stock pot, place the first 9 ingredients.  Poach (little or no movement of the liquid) for 1 1/2 hours.

Remove the chicken, peel off the skin, pull from the bone and shred.  Set aside.  Reserve poaching liquid and strain.  Keep hot.

In a hot pan, toast the pumpkin seeds until golden.

Grind them in a food processor or nut and spice grinder.

Set aside.

Heat a medium skillet over medium to high heat.  Add the minced garlic, onions, peppers, and green tomatoes.  Saute until softened.

Add 1 c. reserved poaching liquid and simmer until the vegetables are tender.  Puree.

Set aside.

To the remaining poaching liquid, add the shredded chicken, pureed vegetables, 1/2 tsp. cumin, coriander, and salt to taste, keeping in mind that the liquid will reduce over time and the salt will become concentrated.

Simmer 45 minutes.  Add the cilantro leaves, ground toasted pepitas, and hominy.  Season with salt to taste a final time.