Smoky Chili Soup with: a great big warm wooley lip-smackin’ wintery hug in this bowl!![]( "IMG_0030")
To say that this Smoky Chili “Soup” is hardy would be an understatement. There MUST be a lime wedge or three on the side of the bowl. The yogurt cheese, fresh green onion and fresh lime juice make all the difference with this dish. Smoky Chili Soup will be your new favourite. I promise you.
And it must be served with a crusty loaf of homemade bread for dipping. Ciabatta would be the perfect choice . This is a bread that is complex, chewy, and can be par-baked, frozen and in 12 minutes from frozen, you have a freshly baked delicious bread to accompany your meal: in this case, your deep and densely delicious Smoky Chili Soup.
I have been reading a lot of chili posts lately, but the big chunks of steak and the lime wedges caught my eye on this one. Faith’s food always looks so good and I have been working at making big batches of food that can be frozen for quick delicious meals and this fit the bill. I have already put away individual packages of cordon bleu, giant turkey pasta shells, sarma, dolmates , lots of chicken soup stock and several loaves of par-baked ciabatta. Look at the chunks of tri-tip and chirozo and there is also bacon and ground beef: now that is a carnivore’s delight! The yogurt cheese balls just melt into the hot Smoky Chili Soup and with the lime and onion, elevate this to a classy up-scale casual company meal. I like that!
The first time I made Smoky Chili Soup, it was very soupy and the broth was richly complex, but not at all your standard chili fare. I have noticed that the next day, the dish seems to cure and is more chili or stew like with plenty of sauce for dipping. I used a can of tomatillos and wished I had two cans. Faith use Tomatillo Salsa. The original recipe calls for smoked pork hocks which would have made the dish too fatty and smoky for my palate. I chose to not use pork, instead added Sweet Smoky Paprika (which I love) and you may even want to add more as it is not an overtly smoky chili. It is subtle and complex and the three garnishes cannot be understated. This is one dish that is the foundation for the fireworks the garnishes display when hitting the tongue on the back of this soup. Spectacular! This is a dish lickin’ bowl o’ yum.
The recipe is long, but don’t be discouraged. It is a very straight forward deal once you get your ingredients laid out.
Smoky Chili Soup with a Splash of Fresh Lime
Inspired by Faye at An Edible Mosaic who was inspired by Cooking Light’s recipe for Smoky Slow Cooker Chili from the January 2009 issue. Certainly, I have also made it my own.
Ingredients for the Day Prior
- 3 cups or 500 grams Barlotti beans (, reconstituted and prepared for use (800 grams))
- 2 kilo fresh small tomatoillo (, oven roasted and pureed (1200 grams) OR 2 large can (28 oz) or 1200-1500 grams tomatillos)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Ingredients for Soup
- 2 tablespoons or 30 grams olive oil x 3
- 1/2 pound or 250 grams bacon (, sliced into lardons)
- 1 pound or 500 grams know-your-farmer ground beef
- 1.5 pound or 750 grams flank or round steak (, trimmed of fat and cubed into 1-inch pieces, seasoned)
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 bottles or cans of Guiness
- 2 cups or 2 medium-large onions (, diced)
- 8 large cloves or 20 grams garlic (, minced)
- 2 tablespoons or 30 grams Ancho chili powder
- 1 tablespoon or 15 grams sweet high quality Paprika ((Hungarian or Serbian))
- 2 tablespoons or 30 grams Smoked Spanish Paprika
- 2 teaspoons Vegeta
- 1/2 teaspoon Chipotle Pepper
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2-4 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 small can or 6 ounces or 156 grams tomato paste
- 1/4 cup or 60 grams Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 large cans ((28 oz) or 1500 grams diced tomatoes (with juices))
- 1 large can ((28 oz) or 750 grams water)
- 2 medium green peppers (, diced)
- 1 Anaheim pepper (, chopped)
- Extra salt and freshly ground pepper to season throughout process
Ingredients for Garnish
- Homemade yogurt or yogurt cheese
- Fresh scallions (, thinly sliced)
- Fresh lime wedges: makes the chili sparkle!
Advance Preparations: Barlotti Beans
- Soak beans overnight, strain and rinse; bring to boil and simmer 2-3 hours until tender
- Cool and set aside
Advance Preparations: Tomatillos
- Pre-heat oven to 450F on roast
- Peel, wash and halve 2 kilos tomatillos; place on parchment covered baking sheet, cut side up
- Bake for 30 minutes until soft and caramelized; cool
- Puree with the 1/2 teaspoon salt and set aside
Instructions for Soup
- In 5-quart heavy pot with lid, heat oil over medium-high heat; add lardons and sauté until crispy (about 5 minutes)
- Remove and set aside with slotted spoon
- To same pot, add ground beef seasoned with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook until browned; remove and set aside with slotted spoon;
- Flour cubed seasoned beef with 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt with freshly ground black pepper; add to pan browning all sides (about 2 minutes per side) in two batches
- Add second amount of oil to second batch; repeat process
- De-glaze pan with two bottles of Guinness, gently scraping bottom of pan until all flavour bits are freed from bottom of pot; reduce to half (20-30 minutes on simmer) and then add to meat mixture
- Add another 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and sauté onions seasoned with 1/2 the Vegeta and freshly ground black pepper until translucent (about 5 minutes); add garlic stirring for 30 seconds, then add both chili powders (Ancho and Chipotle), both paprikas (Hungarian and Spanish), cumin seeds, and oregano toasting all for about one minute, or until fragrant
- Add bay leaves, sugar, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce; stir to incorporate
- Add meat mixture back to pot; stirring to combine
- Add one can of diced tomatoes, all tomatillos and 1 can of water (or however much will fit in the pot and set rest beside to top off soup as mixture boils down)
- Add another teaspoon of Vegeta; bring to a boil, cover pot, and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally
- Add both green peppers, cover pot; cook another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally
- Add beans during the last 5 minutes of cooking; taste and season with salt and pepper
Garnish and Serve
- Serve garnished with yogurt, thinly sliced scallions, and lime wedges to squeeze on top with a crusty artisan bread on the side
Holy Cow! No need to ask “Where’s the Beef?” I can hardly lift my spoon or fork! (There better not be any little Beavers in here!)
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