Food Network star Bobby Flay is launching the newest season of “Beat Bobby Flay — its 29th — with a twofer: a cookbook dubbed “Beat Bobby Flay: Conquer the Kitchen with 100+ Battle-Tested Recipes” (Clarkson Potter, $32.50). It brims with tips for competitors and home cooks alike, and recipes for everything from Huevos Rancheros to this Vegetarian Chili.
Ever the omnivore, Flay wasn’t thrilled when he learned he would be making vegetarian chili on his show. “I mean, if you’re gonna make chili, let’s get some meat in the pot, right?” he says in the new cookbook. “Well, I stand corrected. I substituted eggplant and mushrooms, both meaty vegetables, for the beef or lamb I normally would have reached for, and it worked—and I mean really worked. The vegetables held up in texture while truly absorbing the other flavors.”
Vegetable Chili with Cumin-Lime Yogurt & Avocado-Shishito Relish
Serves 4 to 6
INGREDIENTS
8 tablespoons canola oil, divided use
1 large Spanish onion, finely diced
6 garlic cloves, mashed to a paste with ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
2 teaspoons New Mexico chile powder
1 teaspoon guajillo chile powder
1 teaspoon chipotle powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons tomato paste
12-ounce bottle dark beer
35-ounce can peeled whole plum tomatoes, undrained
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
3 large portobello mushrooms, stems discarded, caps cut into ½-inch dice
6 cups ½-inch-diced peeled eggplant (1 large or 2 medium)
15.5-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 scallions, green tops and pale-green parts only, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon clover honey
Cumin-Lime Yogurt (recipe follows)
Avocado-Shishito Relish (recipe follows)
½ cup coarsely grated queso blanco
¼ cup finely grated Cotija cheese
Fried tortillas strips or crumbled tortilla chips, for garnish (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Add all the chile powders, the coriander and cumin. Cook, stirring constantly, until the spices are fragrant and deepen in color, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the beer and cook until the mixture is reduced by about half, about 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and their juices and cook until the tomatoes begin to soften and break down, about 15 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, coarsely mash the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the oregano. Cook until the sauce starts to thicken, about 20 minutes.
While the sauce is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring a few times, until golden brown and their liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Season and transfer to a large bowl.
Return the skillet to the heat and add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Working in batches, add the eggplant in a single layer, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring a few times, until golden brown and soft, about 10 minutes. Add the eggplant, mushrooms and black beans to the tomato sauce and stir to combine. Cook for 15 minutes to meld the flavors and thicken the mixture. Stir in the cilantro and scallions and season with the honey, salt, and pepper.
Ladle the chili into bowls, top with a dollop of the cumin-lime yogurt and avocado-shishito relish, a sprinkle of the queso blanco and Cotija cheeses, and some tortilla chips, if desired.
CUMIN-LIME YOGURT
1 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions: Whisk together the yogurt, lime zest, lime juice and cumin in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours before serving.
AVOCADO-SHISHITO RELISH
1 tablespoon canola oil
7 shishito peppers
4 Hass avocados, cut into large dice
¼ cup finely diced red onion
Juice of 2 limes
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add the shishitos, season with salt and pepper, and cook until charred on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board, let cool for a few minutes, then finely dice.
Combine the avocado, onion, lime juice and cilantro in a large bowl. Using a fork, coarsely mash the ingredients together. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Gently fold in the diced shishitos. (Can be made up to 4 hours in advance and refrigerated.)
— Reprinted with permission from Beat Bobby Flay. Copyright © 2021 by Boy Meets Grill, Inc. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
