(Disclaimer: This recipe is a repost from my earlier blogging days. For the initial post I forgot to take a picture of the chili because it was so good that my husband (then fiancé) and I ate it all. Last night I remade this recipe and updated this two-year old post with a picture. Cheers!)
My fiancé is in town! Yes that’s a proclamation and also a reason for this recipe. Today we were planning to sit all day on the beach catching some sun but unfortunately the weather predictions were off for this week and it is gloomy and cold in Long Beach, CA. But fret not cold weather and warm food go hand in hand. My fiancé loves chili so whenever I ask him what he’d like to have for dinner I can expect that chili is what he will ask for. He’s been a vegetarian for most of his life so a deux (two) bean vegan chili is right up his alley. He persuaded me to name this chili recipe “deux bean” because he has a silly obsession with elementary French. Since this chili was for him I obliged with the name. 
I decided to spruce up my typical chili powder flavored chili by adding some dried and fresh chiles for a bolder taste and spice. I am attempting to rid my life of canned foods so I opted to use fresh ingredients for all the contents. So instead of using canned beans which are typically very high in sodium, I prepared my own. Also I used fresh diced tomatoes instead of canned.
Ingredients
- 3 Large Dried New Mexico Chiles
- 1 Cups of Water (1 for Chili and 1 for rehydrating the Dried Chiles)
- 6 Vine Tomatoes
- 2 Jalapeños
- 1 Yellow Onion
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Green Bell Pepper
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 1 1/2 Cup of Cooked Pinto Beans
- 1 1/2 Cup of Cooked Kidney Beans
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Tsp Oregano
- 1 Tsp Cumin
- 1/2 Tsp Paprika
- 1/4 Tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1/4 Tsp Pink Salt
- 1/4 Tsp Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
What You’ll Need
- Dutch Oven or Large Pot
Instructions
- Bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Remove from heat and place seeded and de-stemmed dried chilies in water. Soak for 30 minutes to rehydrate. Once rehydrated, blend chiles and water together well to create a puree. Set to the side.
- Chop all vegetables and jalapeño peppers (leave in the seeds if you enjoy heat), to desired size and set to the side. Also mince the garlic.
- In a large cast iron pot, sauté onions and bell peppers in olive oil for 5 mins. Add garlic and sauté for an additional 3 mins.
- Add seasonings, beans, tomatoes, jalapeño peppers, the chili puree, and remaining cup of water to the pot. Stir all ingredients together and bring to a boil. Reduce the chili to a simmer, making sure to stir every 20 mins to prevent sticking or burning.
- I love to simmer this for as long as I can, to help the flavors develop. But one hour of cooking time will suffice. Also, this chili taste better if you prepare it the day/night before you eat it because it allows the flavors to meld.
I serve this over a brown rice and quinoa blend with gluten-free vegan cornbread. Cheers to this deliciously vegan meal in a bowl.
