I decided it was time to inaugurate the first soup recipe on this blog, and with the weather turning colder and colder, a chili seemed like the best choice. I've also decided to start doing something new. From now on, I will dedicate each soup recipe to someone awesome in my life.
This white chili goes out to my friend Kara, not just because she asked me for the recipe, but because it also resembles her in some ways. Kara is an amazing salsa dancer and her soul is full of vigor and spice. Like this dish, she has a creative spirit that elevates her above the norm. Although I don't get to spend as much time with her since she's moved to a new town, I'm still regularly impressed by the energy and ambition she lives with.
So, if you're ready to warm up with a chili that's zesty and original like my friend Kara, put on some salsa music and get to work making your seitan. Click here for full instructions and step-by-step photos on making seitan.
Once the seitan is ready, shred it up with a couple of forks. Then, start making the chili.
Blend some tomatillos into a beautiful green purée.
Take out a big pot and cook up a bunch of spicy, fragrant veggies like onions, garlic, poblanos and yellow bell pepper. Once they're soft, add in some warm spices, white beans (I prefer cannellini but most anything will do), vegetable broth and those tomatillos you blended up. Eventually you want to throw in some hominy too. After it's all been simmering together for a while, you can add the seitan and it's ready to eat!
White Chili
Serves 8
Important: Be sure to give yourself enough time to cook the seitan. For a quicker recipe, you can use store bought seitan.
Ingredients
Seitan
1 cup vital wheat gluten flour
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable broth powder
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cups vegetable broth
Chili
1 lb tomatillos, husked and quartered
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 poblano or hatch chili peppers, seeded and diced (see tip)
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 (15 oz) cans white beans including liquid
4 cups vegetable broth
1 (15 oz) can hominy, drained and rinsed
Serve with: vegan sour cream, finely chopped cilantro and lime wedges
Method
- Prepare the seitan. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly oil a lidded casserole dish with non-stick spray. Combine flours, nutritional yeast, spices and vegetable stock powder in a large bowl. Mix the water, lemon juice and soy sauce in a small bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until a dough forms. Adjust amount of water or gluten as needed (see tip). Knead the dough for 5 minutes, then form into a loaf. Place the seitan in the casserole dish and cover with 2 cups of vegetable broth. Cover and cook for 40 minutes. Flip the loaf, then cover and cook for another 40 minutes. Remove the seitan from the dish and allow it to rest until cool enough to handle.
- Stick a fork into the top of the seitan loaf and hold it in place with one hand. Use a second fork to shred the loaf into small chunks and crumbles.
- Blend the tomatillos in a food processor until smooth. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the onion, garlic, celery, poblanos and bell pepper. Cook 10-12 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
- Add cumin, oregano, coriander, paprika, cloves, salt, pepper, beans with liquid, the blended tomatillos and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Cover and cook for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the hominy and cook, covered, another 10 minutes. Add seitan and cook for 1 minute or until heated through.
- Divide into bowls and top with a dollop of vegan sour cream. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with lime wedges.