Attaching this picture in hopes that pepper pareidolia will distract you from the fact that I never take photos of my chillies.
My mom's a great cook. Having said that, old habits die hard and both Polish and Austrian cuisines seem to draw the veggie/meat line somewhere between chicken and pork.
My mom never liked chilli. Plus, she's a ridiculously busy person. She also lives 3 minutes away from Wienerwald, and at the time of writing this recipe (October) mushroom season in central Europe is in its peak.
This is a chilli recipe for my mom. It's quick to make, it shifts the flavour towards the ingredients she grew up with, it's heartwarming and it's not heart-attack-inducing.
Make it for someone you like.
Recipe
The recipe itself is pretty standard, with two small additions:
- dried wild mushrooms for increased umami, a slightly gamey, smoky flavour, and a more complex texture
- slightly more acidic (tomatoes) and less cumin-forward
Ingredients (for 4 portions)
- 1 onion
- 1-2 sticks celery
- 1 carrot
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1tsp cayenne pepper
- salt
- pepper
- can (800 g) black beans (red beans are fine too)
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1-2 tbsp tomato concentrate
- 1 small can of peeled tomatoes (or passata)
- (optional) 100ml of vegetable broth (chicken is fine too)
- (optional) a handful of dried soaked wild mushrooms
- (optional, fancy) soaking liquid from dried mushrooms, decanted and reduced to 50 ml (a shot glass)
- cilantro or parsley
Method
- dice the onion, celery, carrots
- fry on medium heat in olive oil, till the onion looks barely translucent
- add paprika and tomato concentrate, stir
- increase the heat and deglaze with broth (or water, or white wine to increase acidity)
- add the peeled tomatoes
- add the beans, including the liquid from the can
- when using tomato passata, use only 1/2 of the liquid from the can
- it's not a soup, but keep the consistency slightly too liquid, it'll reduce
- (optional) add the liquid from the soaked mushrooms
- stir and cook on low heat for 20-30 minutes
- chop the bell pepper, and add it to the chilli
- cook for another 10 minutes
Serve over rice, with sliced avocado or a bit of sour cream on top. Finish with a small amount of roughly chopped cilantro.
If you want to parallelise the recipe, 7. is when you should start preparing the rice.
