I thought I'd post this recipe here as, not only does it involve beer as an ingredient, it is also a great meal to have with beer. It is not only tasty, but has a real hearty “sticks to the ribs” quality to it.
The recipe is vegetarian because, while I am a meat eater, I have quite a few vegetarian friends and my better half would be considered vegetarian, if it weren't for the occasional bit of fish she eats.
It took me quite a few years of trial and error to perfect this dish, but it was worth it, as it means that I can feed a bunch of people for very little.
This meal has always been well received and many meat eaters have failed to notice that it was vegetarian until it was pointed out to them.
You will need a large pot for this. I use the stockpot I originally bought as part of my extract brewing kit.
Vegetarian Chili
By Séan Billings
Recipe serves 6-7 people, but you can scale it up or down by adding or removing various cans of beans. The proportions listed are as a guide only, but if in doubt, err on the side of Kidney Beans.
If you change the volume of food, don't forget to change the amount of spices too.
Spices are for mild to medium chili, once the addition of cheese is taken into account. Adjust spices to taste.
Ingredients:
1-2 Can(s) of Baked Beans (Tesco Value is fine).
2 Cans of Butter Beans.
3 Cans of Kidney Beans (Tesco Value is fine).
2 Cans of Tomato purée
2-3 Tablespoons of Tomato Ketchup.
3-4 tablespoons of Soy Sauce.
250-350ml of beer.
2 Onions.
5 or 6 shakes of Tobasco Sauce.
5 fresh green finger chilies. Finely diced (seeds left in).
1 Heaped tablespoon of Cumin.
Method:
Empty the Baked Beans into a large pot.
Drain and empty the Butter Beans into the large pot.
Drain and rinse the Kidney Beans, emptying one of the cans into the large pot.
Chop the other two cans of Kidney Beans, before emptying into the pot.
Add the Tomato purée, Tomato Ketchup, Tobasco Sauce, Soy Sauce and Beer. Stir well and put on a medium heat.
Chop and fry the onions, with the chili paste and Cumin, until the onions are cooked. Add to the mix.
Stir well and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 15 or 20 minutes.
Serve with rice (I find brown rice works best with this, for some reason) and plenty of grated cheddar. I usually throw two 250g bags on the table.
The cheese is an important part of the flavour and it serves to cool down the chili heat. Put the bottle of Tobasco on the table for anyone (like me) who wants to heat it up a bit.
I also serve this with hot dogs (for the meat eaters) and garlic and coriander naan bread.
Tortilla wraps and a jar of jalapeño peppers can also make a nice addition.
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