This chili recipe came about because my darling husband was craving quinoa. It didn’t matter that we’d had quinoa soup for two days before, he still wanted something else with quinoa. His love of my vegan quinoa dishes always surprises me. I grumbled lovingly, and headed to the kitchen to see what I could create without having to run to the market. This is the recipe that came out of my kitchen experiment. Use a whole jalapeño pepper if you like a little more heat.
Vegan and Gluten Free
Dehydration Time: 7–10 hours
Makes 6 large servings
1 tablespoon olive or avocado oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 small jalapeño pepper, minced
½ cup red quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground ancho chili pepper*
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 10-ounce can condensed tomato soup
½ cup vegetable stock or water
¾ cup canned tomatillos, diced
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 28-ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 19-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 19-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
¼ cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
At Home
Add the oil to a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion and celery in the oil until softened. Put the quinoa in the pan and toast the seeds until they start to bounce in the pan. Add the jalapeño pepper, garlic, chili powder, ancho chili pepper, and cumin. Cook for 1 minute, then add the tomato soup and vegetable stock. Simmer for 10 minutes then add the tomatillos, beans, and lime juice. Simmer for 1 hour, add the cilantro, and season to taste.
Remove the chili from the heat and let it cool. Measure the chili and write this measurement on a sticky note. Place on lined dehydrator trays and dry for 7 to 10 hours. Place the dried chili in a ziplock freezer bag along with the sticky note.
At Camp
Add enough boiling water to the chili mix in a pot to equal the measurement on your sticky note. Do not add the water first or you will have too much liquid. Once rehydrated you might have to reheat the chili.
Note
I used a piece of a whole dried ancho chili pepper and ground it to a powder with a coffee grinder that I use exclusively for spices.
