An Original Recipe by Angela Trentadue

You may notice that this recipe has no meat in it, but (for those of you who might not consider meatless chili actually chili) you’ll never miss it. It’s perfectly thick, rich in beans and onions and has great depth of flavor from roasted tomatoes, chipotle in adobo, dried anchos and a bit of cocoa powder. The veggies I’ve added to the mix round out the flavors with sweet bell peppers and creamy butternut squash. My preference is to use regular yellow onions in the chili and then top it off with some candy onion, along with sharp cheddar and a bit of sour cream.

1 large yellow onion, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1/2 poblano pepper, ribs and seeds removed, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small chipotle in adobo sauce, minced
1 tbs ancho chile powder
1 tbs cocoa powder
1/4 c sundried tomatoes, chopped fine
1 butternut squash, top half only – peeled and cut into 1/4” dice
1-28 oz can tomatoes, rough chopped, juice reserved
2-15 oz can black beans
1-3 tsp soy sauce

Begin by heating 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large saucepan or stockpot over medium-low heat. Add onion and sweat, allowing to soften. Stir in peppers and continue to cook, melting onions and peppers together.

Once the peppers and onions have released their juices and start to stew together, stir in garlic, chipotle with some adobo sauce, chile powder, cocoa powder and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir everything well and cook about 4-5 minutes.

Stir in butternut squash and stir to coat well. Allow to cook for a few minutes more, stirring any time the mixture sticks to the bottom of the pan. Add the chopped canned tomatoes and give another good stir.

Let cook another 4-5 minutes.

Finally, add the reserved tomato juice and the beans. Mix well and let simmer until squash is tender. Taste for seasoning, adding soy sauce and chile or cocoa to your preference.
Serve with sour cream or yogurt, diced onion and grated aged cheddar cheese.

Adapted by Chris Moore from the “Get Fresh” cookbook

Ingredients
1 bunch of Green onions – chopped
2 tbsp oil
1 bunch of green garlic – chopped
1 lb spinach, washed and shredded
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 to 2 cups of cooked chick peas
2 Tbsp butter
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
1) In a large frying pan or wok fry the green onion, green garlic, and cumin seeds.
2) Add spinach, in stages, stirring until the leaves begin to wilt (and yes, it will all fit in the pan).
3) Stir in the chick peas, butter, and seasoning.
4) Reheat until bubbling, then serve hot. I ended up making a triple recipe, using all the green onions on hand and 4 bags of spinach. The whole family participated in cutting things up and preparing the spinach. It was really good!