Gathering & Preparing Your Mise en Place
This dish has many ingredients so it is important to have all ingredients together prior to preparing the chili.
Including the making of the Date Paste. Alternatively, you can use a another sweetener of choice. We have used date paste as it is a whole-food, natural sweetener.
Step 1: Gathering & Preparing Your Mise en Place
- 1 cup onions, diced
- 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp jalapeño, seeded and minced
- 1 1/2 cup vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup carrots, diced
- 1 cup black beans, cooked or canned and rinsed
- 1 cup kidney beans, cooked or canned and rinsed
- 1 cup pinto beans, cooked or canned and rinsed
- 1/2 cup zucchini, diced
- 1/2 cup roasted peppers, diced
- 3 cups tomatoes, whole peeled in juice, crushed with your hands
- 1/2 tbsp chipotle purée
- 3 tbsp date paste (less or more depending on acidity in tomatoes)
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- sea salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- handful of green onion, sliced
Step 2: Making the Chili
- green onion for garnish, sliced
- Cashew Sour Cream for garnish
To make the chili, in large pot on medium to medium–high heat, add the onions and dry-sauté until the onions begin to caramelize.
Next, add the spices and toast for a few seconds, then add the garlic and jalapeño and cook until the mixture begins to stick. Deglaze with half of the vegetable stock.
Add the carrots and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until they begin to soften. Add the beans and stir to combine. Add the zucchini and roasted peppers and continue to cook for 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, along with their juice and stir to combine.
Add more of the vegetable stock to barely cover the ingredients and bring to a simmer before stirring in the chipotle purée and date paste . Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the tomato paste if desired and simmer for an additional 20 to 25 minutes or until beans are slightly falling apart, yet keeping the zucchini from getting mushy.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir in a handful of green onions.
Serve with a dollop of Cashew Sour Cream and additional sliced green onions.