Pibil Mission Chili

Amusingly, this is based on a Meatless Mission Chili recipe out of the 15 Minute Gourmet Vegetarian book by Pauline Mitchell. The pibil pork was made by my companion, Struggles, a few days prior for tacos. He cites the recipe as being from Once Upon a Time in Mexico and offers this link. I will note that he didn't use habaneros, as called for, as we couldn't find those at the local supermarket, so he used several green ají dulce peppers instead. These little things are slightly lower in Scoville units so he used 5 or 6 instead of the 1-3 habs called for in that recipe. Also, there was no tequila to be had, so he omitted that.

1- 29 ounce can Goya black beans, drained and rinsed

1- 29 ounce can Goya red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1- 29 ounce can Goya cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1- 15 ounce can diced no salt added tomatoes, do NOT drain

1 quart low sodium chicken stock

7 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 orange bell pepper, roughly chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, roughly chopped

1 green bell pepper, roughly chopped

1 small/medium zucchini, roughly chopped

1 small/medium zucchini, grated

4(ish) green ají dulce peppers, finely chopped (borderline minced)

20-30 ounces of shredded pibil pork 

3 tablespoons oil (I was using canola)

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon rubbed (dried) sage

3-4 tablespoons ground cumin (fresh is best, of course)

1 cup roasted, unsalted whole cashews

1) In a *large* stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat. Dump in the onion, garlic and ají dulce peppers. Sauté until the peppers are translucent. I like to add in about half of all the spices here, both for their aromatic effect and so the spices added closer to serving time are more pungent. 

2) Dump in the pibil, tomatoes (with the juice,) the bell peppers and the chopped zucchini. Sauté until the bell peppers soften.

3) Pour in the drained and rinsed beans and the grated zucchini. Next in is the chicken stock. the liquid should cover the contents of the pan by about an inch. If it doesn't, add some water until it's right.

4) Bring it to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. This is where the rest of the spices go in and you can start playing with the flavor. Generally, I prefer my chili to have heat, but be really richly flavored. Simmer for at least an hour, or until it's a hearty thickness. Make sure to taste it at least five minutes after each spice adjustment, so you don't over spice, especially if you're kicking up the heat.

5) When doling out individual servings, throw a small handful of roasted cashews on top. Of course, serving with cornbread is highly recommended.