Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili

The key to delicious food, is depth of flavor. And the only thing that can create this, is time. It’s a process that cannot be rushed. It takes hours for the individual ingredients to release their flavors, and for those to come together to create something that is greater than just the sum of it parts. And, I think it’s a little harder to coax depth of flavor from beans than from meat. This slow cooker vegetarian chili is thick, hearty and has deep rich texture, you’ll like it. And, a slow cooker is the ideal kitchen tool for this.

A little history

Chili has been around a while. Meat based chili has been cooked in Mexico for nearly 500 years, but before that it was probably a spicy vegetable stew. There’s an account from 1529 by a Franciscan monk who talked about a chili based stew he had while in Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City). Well that was just a few years after the Spanish conquered Mexico, and brought beef. Probably not enough time to create a whole new dish and call it chili, but certainly enough time to modify an existing spicy vegetable stew, and add beef, and call it chili. It was a meal cooked by hard working poor, it had to be hearty and nourishing, enough to satisfy the hunger from working in the fields all day.

What’s in it

I’m going back to those humble roots with this recipe. Tomatoes, beans, onions, peppers and spices, cooked all day. Everything starts with a good aromatic base, it’s called a Mirepoix, and this is a version of that. Onions, celery and carrots to start, I’ll add peppers and garlic to that. All these are cut up and spread on the base of the slow cooker. The next building block is the herbs and spices.

This is a chili, so obviously chili powder is front and center here. Chili powder is a mixture of various seasonings including chilis and smoked paprika, this will give the classic spice base. To that cumin, which is found in many Mexican dishes, oregano, garlic powder, which will add some depth to the garlic flavor. And rounding out the spices is ground red pepper flakes. I prefer this to cayenne, which is a little too harsh for me. If you prefer, you can certainly use it instead. Mix the spices together and sprinkle over the vegetables.

It’s my belief that chili originally had tomatoes as an ingredient. They are native to the region, and certainly add a good flavor to any stew. So a can of diced tomatoes are spread as the next layer. Tomato juice is a little thin, there is a solution for that, tomato paste, it’ll thicken up the stew a little, and enhance the flavor. Now to the beans. Well, if it has a Mexican heritage, then pinto beans have to be in it. Pintos are native to to Mexico and are the staple in many of their dishes. To that I’ll add cannellini beans, yeah, they’re more Italian, but, they’re the white cousin of the red kidney bean that is found in many chili recipes. Oh, and I like them. The beans get layered over the tomatoes. Now vegetable stock, just enough to cover the ingredients.

The cooking part

So now the ingredients are layered in the slow cooker, and it’s ready to cook. So, that poses the question, to stir before or after cooking? It’s something that I’ve read in various food blogs. Well, for the record I stir after cooking. Why? Well, it has to do with the spices. They are dehydrated, and, need to absorb liquids to release their flavors. When the ingredients are stirred before cooking, the spices end up on the surface. I want them to be submerged, to rehydrate and impart their flavors through the cooking process, so I let natural convection move them around. It’s a personal thing.

Put the slow cooker on low and walk away. If it’s a weekday, you’ll be gone nine hours, so leave it be. When you get home, stir it up, take a couple of cups of the chili and run it through the blender, pour it back in and stir again. This will help to thicken it, give it body. Turn it up to high and give it 45 mins. Now you have this thick, hearty, tomatoey slow cooker vegetarian chili, it’s delicious. Serve it into bowls, just give it a little to cool down. Thank you for reading and enjoy your meal.