Chili with Sweet Corn Dumplings
Say hello to fall with this great chili! For the recipe and various chili musings, visit my blog, or follow the cut.
I have been craving chili lately. Which is really odd for me, I usually don't eat chili more than once or twice a year. And, while I love different kinds of herbs and spices, I generally don't like spicy hot foods. While some of you love Sricha so much you can put it on everything, I can taste a drop in a cup of homemade vinaigrette. So 1 teaspoon would, quite literally, feel like my mouth was on fire.
Don't be intimidated by the list of ingredients, this chili comes together fairly quickly once the beans are cooked! If you have never cooked beans from dry, I encourage you to try - you will save a lot of money. Just soak the beans overnight in a lot of water. In the morning, drain the water, and place the beans and more water in a sauce pan. Heat until boiling, then simmer until just tender, about 1-2 hours. Drain excess water, and they are ready.
Chili, serves 4 to 6
1/2 lb small kidney beans, soaked overnight and cooked until tender (you can substitute 2 cans of kidney beans, drained)
1 lb lean ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 t. oil
1 15 oz. can tomato puree
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1/2 c. water
1 t. paprika
1 t. garlic powder
2/3 t. smoked paprika
2 t. ancho chili powder
2 t. cumin
1 t. pepper
1 1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. cayenne (or to taste)
1 T. brown sugar
1 t. worcestershire sauce
1 t. apple cider vinegar
Heat a large soup pot on medium to medium high heat. Crumble ground beef into pot, and cook until browned. Remove from pot. Check to see how much fat is remaining in the pot. Add enough oil to make 2 t. of oil total in your pot, and add onions. Cook approximately 5 minutes, until translucent. Add paprika, smoked paprika, ancho powder, and cumin. Toast 1-2 minutes until you can smell the cumin. Add tomato paste, and cook an additional 2 minutes.
Add water and scrape any bits remaining on the bottom of the pot off. Add ground beef, tomato puree, diced tomatoes, beans, brown sugar, salt, pepper, cayenne, and garlic powder. Reduce heat to low to medium and simmer 2 hours. Add worcestershire sauce and vinegar and let cook an additional 15-20 minutes. Taste. Add additional salt, pepper, and/or cayenne to taste. Serve warm.
Sweet Corn Dumplings
1/2 c. butter, melted
3/4 c. masa
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 can cream style corn
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. milk
Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8x8 inch pan.
Combine all ingredients until a smooth consistency. Pour into 8x8 pan. Place the 8x8 pan in a 13x9x2 pan and fill the 13x9x2 pan with an inch of water. Place in oven and bake 45 minutes until golden brown on the top. Serve warm.