White Bean Chili

This recipe is from VegNews recipe club, an email I get about every couple of weeks. 

What You Need:


1 head garlic, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
8 medium tomatillos, skins removed, cut into quarters
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
3 poblano peppers, de-stemmed and cut into strips
2 jalapeño peppers, de-stemmed and cut into strips
2 yellow onions, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
Zest and juice of one lime
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
6 baked sweet potatoes
cilantro, for garnish

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Chop top off head of garlic, coat cut side with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, and tightly wrap in aluminum foil. Bake garlic for one hour. Set aside.

2. Onto a baking sheet, place tomatillos and cauliflower and lightly coat in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until cauliflower is golden brown and tomatillos are cooked down into a thick sauce. Set aside.

3. On a baking sheet, toss poblano and jalapeño peppers with 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt and roast for 30 minutes. Set aside.

4. While peppers are roasting, in a large saucepan over medium heat, sauté onions in 1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil until softened, approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Add cumin, oregano, thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and stir to combine. Add 3 cloves of roasted garlic, tomatillos, and cauliflower.

5. Dice roasted peppers into 1/2-inch pieces and add to pot. Add lime juice, zest and beans and cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until beans are heated through. Pour over baked sweet potatoes and serve immediately.

For the record, i did not like it over the sweet potato.  however, i do like the chili by itself.  it was wonderful.  and, separately, the potato was good.  so, that is how i eat it (separated).  nathaniel liked it together - with cilantro as garnish.  together it was too much for me (flavor, texture).

Nathaniel said this was one of the best ones i ever made.  You could not taste the cauliflower - and the peppers and onions were wonderful.  the jalapenos i got were not hot (not that i chose them that way, i justu got 2).  i removed seeds when i cut the peppers into strips.  the pan you put the cauliflower and tomatilloes into needs a lip because it makes lots of juice.  i included the juice in the chili.

enjoy!  this takes a while to cut but total was 1 hour from start to finish.  and, i made the strawberry tart (previous post) while things were roasting too.