Last weekend, I was looking for ideas for new recipe creations and decided to ask my Facebook Friends for help. I created a post asking for a single ingredient. Thanks to several of my friends, I found inspiration in creating a few new recipes. The next three posts are the result of this self-challenge.
I LOVE chili, particularly in the fall and winter. I mean who doesn’t? About 15 years ago, I was introduced to the combination of chili topped with cole slaw. Traditional spicy beef chili has been my go-to many Sunday afternoons during football season. However, I’ve been cutting way back on red meat so I was looking for a substitute.
This recipe includes 3 ingredients from the post: Eggplant, Poblano Peppers and Cabbage. Here’s a quick view of the process.
The Recipe Prep time 2 hours. Serves 8-10
Dill Cole Slaw
1 bag pre-cut slaw
1 C. mayonaise
1/3 C. sour cream
1/4 C. chopped fresh dill
Salt and Pepper to taste
Mix All Ingredients. Refrigerate.
Chili
1 Medium Eggplant
1 Sweet Potato
3 Poblano Peppers
1 Large Onion-Chopped
3 Cloves Garlic
1-28 oz. Can Crushed Tomatoes
1-16 oz. Can Black Eyed Peas
1-16 oz. Can Black Beans
3 C. Water
1 Tsp. each Chili powder, Cumin, Smoked Paprika
Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange eggplant, sweet potato, and peppers on a baking sheet. With a knife, make several small incisions into the sweet potato and eggplant. The poblanos with be ready first after about 30 minutes, the eggplant and sweet potato will take about 45 minutes. For faster cooling immerse the eggplant and sweet potato into an ice bath. In the meantime, heat a large pot over medium heat. Drizzle enough olive oil to cover bottom of the pot. Chop the onion and garlic, add to the pot, saute until onions are translucent. When the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove tops, slice, scrape out seeds and chop. When the eggplant and sweet potato are cool enough to handle, remove the skins and chop to desired size. Add all to the pot. Add crushed tomatoes and water. Drain the black eyed peas and black beans and rinse. Add to the pot. Add seasoning. Allow to heat through. I like to wait about an hour for all to meld together.
For Serving
Ladle chili into a large soup bowl. Garnish with Dill Cole Slaw.
