Mayan Harvest Vegetarian Chili
This chili has a unique flavor autumn flavor: sweet potatoes, black beans, squash and chipotle peppers, with a hint of cocoa and cinnamon. A little bit of sweet and a little bit of spicy, this savory soup has a combination of flavors that will please any palate. It’s made without any oil, so it’s quite healthy for you too. This soup gets even better the next day so you’ll be excited to have it for left-overs. Top with creamy polenta and avocado…I’m going back for seconds right now!
Ingredients:
2 medium onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 large green bell peppers, chopped
1 jalepeño pepper, diced
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1 tablespoon adobo sauce
10 roma tomatoes, chopped (or 2- 14oz cans diced tomatoes)
3 large zucchini and/or yellow; chopped
3 carrots, sliced
1 pound sweet potatoes, chopped
2 cups water
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
5 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 ½ tablespoons sea salt
1- 14 oz can whole kernel corn
1 14 oz can black beans
1- 14oz can kidney beans
Highly Recommended Toppings:
Creamy polenta (see recipe below)
sliced avocado
vegan sour cream
Directions:
1. In a large soup pot over medium heat, heat onions, garlic, green bell peppers, jalepeño pepper, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, tomatoes, zucchini, carrots and sweet potatoes for about 5 minutes.
2. Add water, chili powder, cumin, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt and heat for another 10 minutes or until sweet potatoes and carrots are tender. Adjust salt to taste.
3. Reduce heat to low, add corn, black beans and kidney beans and heat for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for about 15 minutes before serving.
4. Top with creamy polenta, vegan sour cream and avocado and serve.
Makes about 8 servings
Creamy Polenta
2 cups soy milk
1 tablespoon earth balance
¾ cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1- 14 oz can whole kernel corn
½ cup vegan sour cream
1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat soy milk and earth balance until the earth balance is melted.
2. Add cornmeal, brown sugar and salt and stir, reduce heat to medium low, stirring occasionally until the cornmeal is very thick; about 20 minutes. With about 1 minute remaining, add the corn and continue stirring.
3. Remove from heat and add the vegan sour cream. You can spread the polenta out in a large, well oiled baking dish to let harden (this makes it easy to cut into slices and serve), or you can leave it in the saucepan. It should take about 20 minutes for the polenta to completely set. You can cook the polenta ahead of time, refrigerate it and just reheat it in the microwave when you are ready to serve.
