Silver Palate Chili

December 29, 2016

When I want a classic, tomatoey, rich chili, I go to The Silver Palate cookbook, which is a classic in it’s own right. Of course I modify it slightly every time I make it depending on what’s in the house, but the basic recipe is the best. A robust dijon mustard, chili powder, garlic mixture forms the base of the chili with red wine, Italian Sausage and ground beef also part. This time I actually put the sliced olives in, which I usually skip, but chopped them up small, which make it even richer than normal. This is their original recipe, which you can adapt to your tastes as well. The original recipe makes a ton, so this is halved, which still will feed a gang.

Ingredients

1 largeonion, chopped

2 poundsground chuck

8 ouncessweet Italian sausage

4 ouncestomato paste

5garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoonscumin seeds, crushed

2 tablespoonschili powder

2 tablespoonsdijon mustard

1 teaspoon eachdried basil and oregano

2 teaspoonssalt

freshly ground black pepper

1 (28-ounce) canItalian plum tomatoes, undrained

1 (14-ounce) canstewed tomatoes

1/4 cupred wine

1/4 cupchopped fresh parsley

1 canbeans (white, navy or kidney)

1 canpitted black olives, minced

Preparation

Combine onions, sausage, and ground chuck in a large saucepan or Dutch oven and cook over medium-high heat, until the meats are well browned (about 10 minutes). Spoon off any excess fat and discard. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, cumin, chili powder, mustard, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes, wine, parsley and beans. Stir well and simmer, uncovered, for another 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add olives; simmer for 5 minutes more to heat through. Serve immediately with cheese and crackers.