Texas Style Eggplant Chili Recipes

PICK A MEAT CHILI

Steps:

• Heat a large pot over medium heat. Mix together the coriander, paprika, cumin, cayenne and some salt and pepper in a small bowl and toss with the cubed meat, ground meat or eggplant.
• Add the oil to the pot and when hot, add the meat or eggplant and cook, turning as necessary, until brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the onion, garlic and jalapeno and cook, stirring, until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes.
• Add the beer and water and deglaze the pot, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom with a wooden spoon. Add the tomato and chipotle if using, bring to a simmer and simmer until the meat is tender, 1 to 1 ½ hours. (The cooking time will be less for ground meat, chicken and eggplant.)
• Add the beans and continue to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes to thicken. (If using pre-soaked dried beans, the cooking time may be longer.) Serve the chili garnished with your favorite toppers on hand.

SPICY VEGETARIAN CHILI

Steps:

• Roast the cubed eggplant: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Scatter eggplant cubes in a shallow roasting pan and slather with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for about 30 minutes, stirring once during the cooking. Remove from the oven and set aside.
• Sauté the onions, garlic, peppers: While the eggplant is roasting, start on the rest of the vegetables. In a large (5-6 quart) thick-bottomed Dutch oven, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute more. Add the red bell peppers, zucchini, and jalapeño chili peppers. Cook for about 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the tomatoes, spices, chili, and roasted eggplant: Add the tomatoes to the pot along with any liquid that may have been in the can (if using canned). Add oregano, cumin, and fennel seeds. Add chili powder to desired heat. Stir in the eggplant cubes (carefully as to not break them up), and simmer for 20 minutes over low heat.
• Add the beans, lemon, sugar, cilantro, salt, pepper: Add the white beans and kidney beans, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, and chopped cilantro. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Simmer for 5 minutes.
• Serve with garnishes: Serve with sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, and chopped green onions. Links: Vegetarian Chili with Smoked Spices from Sally Cameron

TEXAS STYLE EGGPLANT CHILI

Steps:

• 1. Place Pasilla peppers in 2 cups boiling water. Soak for 10 minutes. Remove from water and place in blender with 1/4 cup boiling water.
• 2. Dice eggplant and cook on low in Dutch oven. Add lime juice.
• 3. Add jalapeño and French onion soup to peppers in blender. Puree until smooth. Add mixture to eggplant.
• 4. Add paprika, cola, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and ranch style beans to mixture.
• 5. Cook on low for 20 to 30 minutes. Add salt to taste.
• 6. To serve, ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped cilantro and lime wedges.

TRUE TEXAS CHILI

Steps:

• 1. Place the chiles in a straight-sided large skillet over medium-low heat and gently toast the chiles until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Don't let them burn or they'll turn bitter. Place the chiles in a bowl and cover them with very hot water and soak until soft, 15 to 45 minutes, turning once or twice.
• 2. Drain the chiles; split them and remove stems and seeds (a brief rinse helps remove seeds, but don't wash away the flesh). Place the chiles in the bowl of a blender and add the cumin, black pepper, 1 tablespoon salt and 1/4 cup water. Purée the mixture, adding more water as needed (and occasionally scraping down the sides of the blender jar), until a smooth, slightly fluid paste forms (you want to eliminate all but the tiniest bits of skin.) Set the chile paste aside.
• 3. Return skillet to medium-high heat and melt 2 tablespoons of the lard. When it begins to smoke, swirl skillet to coat and add half of the beef. Lightly brown on at least two sides, about 3 minutes per side, reducing the heat if the meat threatens to burn. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with 2 more tablespoons of lard and the remaining beef. Reserve.
• 4. Let the skillet cool slightly, and place it over medium-low heat. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of lard in the skillet; add the onion and garlic and cook gently for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the stock, the remaining 2 cups water and gradually whisk in the masa harina to avoid lumps. Stir in the reserved chile paste, scraping the bottom of the skillet with a spatula to loosen any browned bits. Add the reserved beef (and any juices in the bowl) and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain the barest possible simmer (just a few bubbles breaking the surface) and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender but still somewhat firm and 1 1/2 to 2 cups of thickened but still liquid sauce surrounds the cubes of meat, about 2 hours.
• 5. Stir in the brown sugar and vinegar thoroughly and add more salt to taste; gently simmer 10 minutes more. At this point, it may look like there is excess sauce. Turn off the heat and let the chili stand for at least 30 minutes, during which time the meat will absorb about half of the remaining sauce in the skillet, leaving the meat bathed in a thick, somewhat fluid sauce. Stir in additional broth or water if the mixture seems too dry. If the mixture seems a bit loose and wet, allow it to simmer a bit more (sometimes we like to partially crush the cubes of beef with the back of a spoon to let them absorb more sauce). Adjust the balance of flavors with a bit of additional salt, sugar, or vinegar, if you like.
• 6. Reheat gently and serve in individual bowls with a dollop of sour cream on top and a lime wedge on the side.

REAL TEXAS CHILI

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute the beef cubes in the oil for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and stir in the garlic.
• In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, cumin and flour. Sprinkle over the meat and stir until evenly coated. Crumble the oregano over the meat and pour in 1 1/2 cans of the broth.
• Add the salt and ground black pepper, stir together well, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and let simmer, partially covered for about 90 minutes. Pour in remaining broth and simmer 30 minutes more, until meat begins to fall apart. Cool, cover and refrigerate to allow the flavors to blend.

TEXAS STYLE CHILI

Steps:

• In a large heavy pot (such as a cast iron Dutch oven), heat the fat or oil over high heat. Add the meat and sear, stirring, until no longer pink. Lower the heat to medium-high. Add the onions, jalapenos, garlic, chiles, and chili powder, and cook, stirring constantly, until the onions are wilted and start to color, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper, and cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the beer and tequila and cook, stirring, to deglaze the pan. Add the chipotles and adobo sauce and 4 cups of the stock, stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer partially covered, stirring occasionally, until the meat is very tender, 2 to 3 hours, adding the remaining cup of stock as needed if the chili becomes too dry or thick. When the meat is tender and the chili is ready, add the masa harina 1 teaspoon at a time to thicken to desired consistency, stirring well and cooking after the addition of each before adding more.
• Remove from the heat and correct the seasoning, to taste. Skim any fat from the surface.
• Ladle into bowls and garnish each with cilantro, chopped onions, and a dollop of sour cream. Serve with hot cornbread.

TEXAS CHILI

Steps:

• Tear the guajillo and ancho chiles into about 1-inch pieces. In a medium saucepan, toast the chiles over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and darkened in spots, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the onion, garlic and enough water to cover by 1-inch. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the chiles are softened, about 10 minutes. Drain well and discard the liquid.
• Transfer the chili mixture to a blender with the beef broth, cornmeal, oregano and cumin. Puree until smooth, about 1 minute. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. In a large bowl, toss the beef with the salt and pepper. Working in batches, cook the meat until browned on all sides, 8-10 minutes per batch.
• Return all the beef to the pot and stir in the chili mixture. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the meat is very tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Stir in the cider vinegar. Season the chili to taste with salt. Serve topped with queso fresco, pickled jalapeños, cilantro and corn chips, if you like.

TEXAS-STYLE CHILI

Steps:

• In a small heavy skillet, toast cumin and coriander seeds until fragrant. In a mortar and pestle, or in a coffee grinder, grind to a powder and set aside.
• Meanwhile, roughly cut beef into 2-inch cubes, or slice it against the grain into pieces about 1/4-inch thick by 1 1/2 inches square. Sprinkle with salt.
• In a large, heavy pot over high heat, heat oil until shimmering. Working in batches to avoid crowding the pan, brown the meat, turning occasionally until crusty. Adjust heat to prevent scorching. As it is cooked, remove the meat to drain on paper towels. Add more oil as needed for browning, but do not clean out the pot.
• To the empty but crusty pot, add onion, garlic, jalapeños, masa harina or tortilla (if using), chile powder, cumin-coriander powder and oregano. Cook, stirring, until onion has softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add meat, beer, tomatoes, chocolate, whole dried chiles and 1 quart water. Bring to a gentle simmer and simmer about 1 1/2 hours, or until meat is fork-tender. Remove the dried chiles. Taste and add salt if necessary.
• Serve immediately or let cool and refrigerate. The chili tastes best one or two days after it is made.
• Reheat over low heat if necessary and serve in bowls, sprinkled with chopped onion and cilantro. Add Fritos for crunch, or dip tortillas into the spicy gravy.

VEGETARIAN CHILI WITH EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Place the eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with the coarse salt. Let stand for 1 hour. Pat dry with paper towels. Heat 1/2 cup of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the eggplant and saute' until almost tender, adding a little bit more oil if necessary. Remove the eggplant to a casserole, Dutch oven or crock pot. Heat the remaining 1/4 cup oil in the same skillet over low heat. Add the onions, garlic and green peppers and saute' just until softened, about 10 minutes. Add to the casserole with any oil. Place the casserole over low heat (or if using a crock pot, put all ingredients in the pot until ready to plug in) and add the canned tomatoes with their liquid, fresh tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, oregano, basil, pepper, salt, fennel and parsley. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes. Stir in the kidney beans, chick-peas, dill and lemon juice and cook for another 15 minutes. The eggplant peel should be tender. Stir well and taste and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately with brown rice and lots of shredded cheddar cheese. Serves 8 - 10 portions