Recipe: Steve's Garden Vegetarian Chili

Mid-winter is time to pull out the stockpot and the chili recipes. Vegetarian chili is a wonderful way to win over nonvegetarians and dispel the myth that meatless dishes are boring. Almost any grain, bean or vegetable is a winner in a simmering pot of big red.

Diana Kennedy, a prolific cookbook author and an authority on Mexican cooking, says "Chili, it seems to me, is one of the few foods that has its own god." I agree.

I make chili using canned or jarred beans instead of dried ones because they take less time to cook and taste just as good. I add a whole grain such as barley, quinoa or cracked wheat because I like their texture in my chili.

However, I'm a traditionalist in terms of the vegetables I put in the pot. I always use bell peppers, onions and at least two varieties of hot peppers such as poblanos and jalapeños. But if I see another hot pepper that looks fresh and inviting, I toss it in.

Each type pepper adds another layer of flavor. Some of the more common varieties you might add include hot Hungarian wax peppers, red Fresnos or the long green twisted Sicilian peppers available in Italian markets.

I also like smoky flavors so I add chopped chipotle chilies in adobo that you find canned in the Hispanic section of supermarkets. I also add some smoked paprika, found most everywhere these days. You can use any of the pre-mixed chili spice blends found in the supermarket spice aisle, but I make my own mixture of oregano, cumin and chili powder in the amounts I suggest in my recipe for Steve's Garden Chili.

If you think some of your folks won't be happy without meat, make a big pot of the veggie version. Then add cooked ground beef to half of it. Just for fun, try hollowing out a giant round bread loaf to serve as a bowl and top the chili with shredded cheddar cheese, low-fat sour cream or yogurt, chopped scallions and chopped cilantro.

Chili tastes way better if you can make it at least a day ahead of serving. On that topic I leave you with another favorite quote, this time from author John Steele Gordon: "Chili is much improved by having had a day to contemplate its fate."

Steve's Garden Chili

Makes 8 to 10 servings

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped

1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped

2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced

2 poblano peppers, seeded and chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice

2 cups water, vegetable broth or tomato juice

1/2 cup uncooked dried bulgur wheat

1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 cup canned red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 to 2 tablespoons minced canned chipotle chili in adobo

1. Heat oil in a nonreactive large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, all the peppers, the garlic, chili powder, oregano, paprika and cumin. Saute 5 to 7 minutes until slightly softened and fragrant.

2. Add tomatoes and their juice; water, broth or tomato juice; cracked wheat; all the beans and the chili in adobo. Stir well.

3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a slow simmer and cook, uncovered, 50 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until the cracked wheat is tender.