Spicy Vegetarian Chili

Those of you who have been reading Simply Recipes for a while probably sense (rightly) that my father is a committed carnivore.

Thus you may appreciate that dad, spending an afternoon making this vegetarian chili with vegetables that he had bought at the farmers market that morning, would only put so much care into a meat-free chili, his dinner, if that chili were darn good.

This vegetarian chili is that good.

It’s excellent. Spicy, flavorful, delicious. Of course my mother did have to convince dad that no, we didn’t need steak in addition to the chili, the beans were full of protein. And no, neither did we need potatoes. We served the chili with French bread.

Spicy Vegetarian Chili Recipe

The level of spiciness in this vegetarian chili will depend on how much chili powder, and how many jalapeños you put in the chili. If you like things on the mild side, start with the smaller amounts of both, and add to taste.

Ingredients

• 1 1-pound (450g) eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
• Olive oil
• 2 yellow onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium zucchini, chopped
• 2 large red bell peppers, cored, seeded, diced
• 1 to 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded, finely minced (Taste and check the heat of the jalapeños. If very hot only use one, if mildly hot, use two. Wash hands with soap and water after handling. Do not rub eyes.)
• 1 28-ounce (794g) can Italian plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped, including liquid (or 2 pounds fresh plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped)
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1-2 Tbsp chili powder
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh chopped oregano or 2 teaspoons dried
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 1/2 cup cooked white beans (1 15-ounce or 425g can), drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cup cooked kidney beans (1 15-ounce or 425g can), drained and rinsed
• Zest of one lemon
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (can sub parsley if you have an aversion to cilantro)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

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