Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Eggplant Chili and Black Beans


                        eggplant chili ingredients

This is a wonderful chili to make especially during eggplant season when eggplants are plentiful. It is a delicious combination of black beans, kidney beans, tomatoes, and eggplant cooked in a medley of rich aromatic herbs and spices with just the right kick of heat.

It makes a hearty meatless meal cooked in one pot that is filling, healthy, and satisfying. It can be served topped with grated cheese, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, or  eat it as a dip with gluten free tortilla chips or cut up vegetables. 

Did I forget to mention it is also easy to make and absolutely "delish!"


Personally, I love black beans! I don't know why, but I could eat them everyday. Luckily for me there are so many interesting recipes that can be made with black beans.

Are they healthy? You bet! Not only do they have a good amount of vitamins and minerals, they are also very high in immune building antioxidants and good quality fiber. If you are looking to boost the nutritional value of your meals,  check out my July 2010-blog entry Powerful Reasons to Eat Black Beans 

If you are serving this chili at a get together, put the cooked chili in a crock pot on low to keep it warm, and let guests help themselves.



vegan eggplant chili recipe

Ingredients:
4 cups of eggplant, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 large can of organic diced tomatoes ( or 4 cups tomatoes, peeled and chopped)
2-4 cloves of fresh garlic, diced
1 large onion, diced
2 cups fresh salsa (mixture of chopped tomatoes, green pepper, onion, cilantro, hot pepper all diced small)
1 can black beans, drained ( or make your own)
1 can kidney beans, drained ( or make your own)
1 hot pepper, seeded and chopped fine( optional)
2 tsp of ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground dry ginger ( not fresh ginger)
salt and freshly group pepper to taste
Garnish: 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
* fresh salsa is sold in many supermarkets. It is finely cut up tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, and onions. 

Directions:
Steam cubed eggplant until slightly soft and set aside.
In a dutch oven type pan, slowly saute garlic and onions in 1/4 cup of vegetable broth. Add the  slightly steamed eggplant and cook for about two minutes, stirring frequently. Add diced tomatoes, black beans, kidney beans, hot pepper (if desired), cumin, cinnamon, ground ginger, and fresh salsa. Cook on low covered  for about 20 minutes until flavors mingle. Serve hot with gluten free corn muffins ( see recipe Aug 2 post)

Enjoy

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5 comments:

  1. I love eggplant, but the rest of my family doesn't. They do like Mexican food. I'm going to try this the next time eggplants are on sale! Thanks for the idea!

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    1. Just coming back to tell you, I made this recipe on Sunday for the 3rd or 4th time. It is now our default recipe when we get an eggplant in our CSA farm share or see them on sale. It's really good! I like the special flavor it gets from that little bit of ginger.

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  2. I love your recipes. Your posts come to me in google reader. Lately I've been getting two of everything. I'm sure I did something to make it happen but could you correct it? I'm thinking it's a duplicate subscription.

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  3. thanks becca for the feeback. Glad you are liking this recipe

    ReplyDelete

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