Chili

Ease of Preparation: Medium

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 yellow onions, peeled and medium diced
• 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly slivered
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 2 carrots, peeled, halved and sliced into 0.6 cm (¼”) half-moons
• 3 stalks of celery, medium diced
• 1kg (2.2 lbs) medium ground beef
• 8-10 button or cremini mushrooms, wiped if dirty and quartered
• 1 red or orange or yellow bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, medium diced
• 1 jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed, fine diced
• 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves only, finely chopped
• 4 sprigs thyme, leaves only, finely chopped
• 8g (1 teaspoon) celery salt
• 8g (1 teaspoon) cayenne pepper
• 5g (1 tablespoon) ground cumin
• 10g (2 tablespoons) cornmeal
• A lot of chili powder, like 189.2g (2 cups) (see Method)
• 118 mL (½ cup) beef stock
• 1x 796mL can peeled Roma tomatoes and their liquid
• 1x 570mL can red kidney beans, rinsed (unless you like that bean liquid)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• To serve, grated old cheddar cheese
• To serve, Italian parsley, leaves only, finely chopped
• To serve, sour cream, as needed

Method:

• Heat a film of canola oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Chop your onions and put them into the pot. Season them with a large pinch of salt, and then begin preparing the rest of your ingredients, stirring the onions from time to time. Let them cook, low and slow to get all the goodness out of them. It’s okay if they brown a bit, but keep an eye on them so they don’t burn, lowering the heat if necessary.
• Add the garlic and bay leaves to the pot and stir them together with the onions. Let cook for 5-6 minutes, until the garlic has softened.
• Add the carrots and celery, stirring together and letting soften, 5-6 more minutes.
• Raise the heat to medium high and add the ground beef. Break it up, and stir to combine with the vegetables. Keep cooking and mixing it until little to no pink remains to be seen, then lower the heat back to medium.
• Add the mushrooms and stir them around, allowing them to absorb the extra fat rendered from the meat, 5-6 minutes.
• Add the bell pepper, jalapeño, rosemary and thyme, letting all the ingredients come together to a simmer.
• Meanwhile, drain your beans. Open the can of tomatoes and have it at the ready. Have your spices at hand. Season the pot with the celery salt, cayenne and cumin, add the cornmeal, then begin adding chili powder, about a half cup at a time. You want to add more than you might think, it’s chili after all. Keep adding and stirring in until the mixture in the pot looks DRY. I mean, you should be thinking that if you step away, it might burn because it’s so dry, that’s how much chili powder you should be using. Stir it all in, and let it cook for 1-2 minutes, to bloom the spices and toast the cornmeal.
• Add in the beef stock and tomatoes with their liquid, crushing each tomato with a wooden spoon and stirring to break them up. Stir down to the bottom of the pot, ensuring the tomatoes and their liquid get down there to almost deglaze the dried spices and ensure that burning I almost led you to never takes place.
• Stir in the drained beans, and let the chili come up to a simmer. Once it has, reduce the heat to low, cover and let simmer for 2-3 hours.
• Uncover the chili, and let cook uncovered for 20-30 minutes to reduce slightly. Taste and season with salt and black pepper.
• Garnish individual bowls with grated cheese, chopped parsley and a dollop of sour cream, and serve immediately.