I’m not a vegetarian, I like a steak from time to time and everything. But it’s always been a tradition in my family to eat meat only as a supplement. We usually have at least 2 days a week with no meat at all and a couple more days where it plays a very small part in our meals.
So I wanted to share one of my recipes for a good vegetarian dish: Chili sin Carne (sin = without)
Main ingredients:
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1/2 a red pepper, chopped
- 1/2 a red hot chili, chopped
- 1 stem of celery, chopped
- a piece of zucchini, chopped
- a couple of cloves of garlic (according to taste)
- a big can of black (or red kidney) beans or better yet, home-cooked ones
- a can of tomatoes (of some kind) as well as fresh chopped tomatoes
- a can of corn
- a bit of tomato concentrate
Spices:
- Paprika
- Cumin
- Cinnamon
- Cocoa powder
- Dry chili and other peppers to taste
- Oregano (both fresh and dried)
- A pinch of sugar and a little lemon juice
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions: Heat up a medium sized pot, put in some olive oil and stir-fry the onions and peppers for a bit. Put in the celery, garlic and zucchini and give them a moment more before putting in the rest of the vegetables adding some water to form a stew. Put in the spices little by little to your own taste (although chili should be hot) and let it simmer for a little while to make it taste even better.
Serve with rice boiled with a little turmeric and added a little of the corn from the can. Other ideas (together with rice or alone): Tortillas, grated cheese, sour cream, nachos, guacamole, jalapeños and so on… Whatever is left over is even better the next day and can be put in a lasagne in stead of meat sauce or rolled into burritos..
Guacamole is easy to make, by the way, you just take a couple of ripe avocados and mash the flesh with chopped tomato and onion, salt and lemon juice until it tastes just right.
Bon appetit!
Ragnhild Hjelmborg 