Sunday, March 11, 2007

Chili For A Crowd


Dad's friend from college and his brother are in town right now. They're Jewish, and eat Kosher. That means its either fish (with scales) or vegetarian. I protested to fish since we had bagels&lox for breakfast. So, fortunately enough, there was a pile of cookbooks and magazines for mom to sift through to plan the week's meals (okay, tonight and tomorrow.)
I'd already suggested the chili, since I've had my eye on it since the April issue of Eating Well came a week or two ago and immediately made wheat berries to freeze.
The chili turned out very spicy, but good. And extremely hearty, but the weather's warming up, so it did feel a bit odd. Mom and I think we know what changes we'd make next time, and the recipe here's modified to reflect that. (Mom is a bit teaspoon/tablespoon challenged, which just explained why it was so hot.)

Wheat Berry-Black Bean Chili
adapted from Eating Well April 2007 p. 68-69
serves 12-14

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large yellow onions, chopped
2 large yellow bell peppers, chopped
10 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoons ground pepper
3 15-oz cans black beans, rinsed
1 15-oz can red beans, rinsed
4 14-oz cans diced tomatoes, not drained
2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
1 quart vegetable broth
4 teaspoons brown sugar
3 1/2 cups cooked wheat berries
juice of 2 limes
2 avocados, diced
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in very large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes.
Add beans, tomatoes, chipotle, broth, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 35 minutes.

Stir in cooked wheat berries and heat through, about 10 minutes if frozen.

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