Vegetarian Butternut Squash Chili

We had a bunch of dear friends for Superbowl a few weeks ago and I made this vegetarian chili. I know I’m a little late, but I wanted to capture the recipe for next year. It was delicious and it makes a huge amount (1 L or 8 cups). It has a lot of great flavours and textures, I’ll definitely add it to my repertoire for future Superbowl parties.

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes 1 L (8 cups)

Ingredients:

• 180 g (1 cup) dried red kidney beans (soaked for 12 hours)
• 1 small onion, diced (100 g)
• 1 small carrot, diced (100 g)
• 1/2 butternut squash, diced (150 g)
• 2 celery ribs, diced (100 g)
• 250 mL puréed tomatoes (200 g)
• vegetable stock or water, to cover
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp red pepper paste
• 2 tsp ground cumin, toasted
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp smoked sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup Pearl Barley, cooked
• 1 avocado, for garnish
• 1/2 cup sour cream, for garnish
• chopped cilantro, for garnish

Directions:

1. Put the beans in a pot, cover with 2 inches of water, and bring to a boil. Boil for ten minutes. Drain.
2. Combine beans with everything but the frozen corn, cooked barley and the garnishes in the bowl of a slow cooker. Add enough water to cover. Cook for 8 hours on low or until beans are tender. Add frozen corn and cooked barley about 30 minutes before serving to allow to heat through.
3. Serve with garnishes or plain.