Vegetarian Five Bean Chili
 
 
Category: Main Dish
Yield: Approximately one metric ton. Seriously - this very nearly overflows my 6-quart stockpot. Feel free to halve it if you're not a sucker for leftovers and pawning food off on everyone you know like I am, or if you're not making this for a large group of hungry football fans.
Ingredients
  • 1 cup dried kidney beans
  • 1 cup dried cannellini beans
  • 1 cup dried black beans
  • 1 cup dried pinto beans
  • 1 cup dried navy beans
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 4 ribs celery, diced
  • 8 oz cremini or white mushrooms, quartered
  • 3 carrots, diced
  • 2 red or green bell peppers, diced
  • 3 serrano chili peppers, minced (remove ribs and seeds for less heat)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ¼ cup chili powder
  • 1½ tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 3 cups vegetable stock or water
  • 2 28-oz cans diced tomatoes, with juice
  • ¼ cup natural creamy peanut butter
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Any toppings your heart desires (such as grated cheddar cheese, scallions, raw onion, cilantro, sour cream)
Instructions
  1. Place the beans together in a large pot and cover with three inches of water. Bring to a hard boil for one minute over high heat. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand at least one hour. Drain and set aside (see Notes for subbing canned beans).
  2. Heat olive oil in the same large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms and bell peppers and saute, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the serrano chilies and garlic and cook for two minutes. Add chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, and oregano and cook for one minute, stirring constantly.
  3. Add beans and vegetable stock or water. Simmer, partially covered, for 20-30 minutes, until beans are softened. Add tomatoes and return to a simmer. Whisk in peanut butter, cocoa powder, salt and pepper and let simmer over low heat for at least 30 minutes (I generally make this on a weekend and let it simmer for hours, which allows the flavors to deepen as the chili reduces and thickens).
  4. Serve with toppings and enjoy huddled under piles of blankets. If your spouse/significant other/roommate insists that s/he's too hot and doesn't want to be under a blanket because it's almost 70 degrees, shush them and feed them more chili.
Notes
You can of course replace dried beans with canned if you're having an impulsive chili craving (it happens - trust me, I know). 1 cup of dried beans = about 3 cups once cooked. Your standard can will be a little more than two cups - when I've made this with canned beans, I simply omit the 3 cups of stock/water and add the (rinsed and drained) beans and tomatoes at the same time.
Recipe by Baked In at https://www.baked-in.com/2012/02/01/vegetarian-chili/