Amy's Vegetarian Chili

Step 1

Start by heating some oil in a medium Dutch oven over medium heat. Toss in the chopped onion, green and red bell peppers, and garlic, and cook everything together until the veggies soften, which should take about 5 minutes. While that’s cooking, mash half of the black beans in a small bowl. Add the mashed beans along with the rest of the whole black beans to the pot. Then pour in the diced tomatoes, water, corn, lentils, and quinoa. Sprinkle in the chili powder, brown sugar, paprika, salt, turmeric, oregano, cumin, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Give it all a good stir to mix everything together. Bring the chili to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer gently. Stir it every now and then and let it cook for about 2 hours so all the flavors can really come together. When it’s ready, mix the cornstarch with a few tablespoons of water until smooth, then stir this slurry into the chili. Keep it simmering for another 15 minutes or so until it thickens up nicely. If you want, use a potato masher to break it down a bit and get the chili to your preferred texture.