Haitian Hot Pot

Today's recipe was very much inspired by Jay Soloman's 150 Vegan Favorites. This is a great vegan cookbook, and I consult it regularly. In fact, it has such a great chili recipe that your carniverous Superbowl party buddies probably wouldn't know the difference.*

1 Tbs olive oil
1 cup chopped bell peppers
2 stalks celery
2 minced cloves garlic (or about 2 tsps minced garlic)
1/2 scotch bonnet pepper, 2 large jalapenos, or (like me) a bunch of red chili flakes and a dash of "pepper plant" hot sauce
8 cups water
2 cups peeled, diced butternut squash
1 large potato, diced
2 large carrots, diced
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1 can drained kidney beans

In large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the next 4 ingredients (peppers through peppers, basically). Stir them for 5-7 minutes. Add everything else except the kidney beans and bring to a simmer over high heat. Then reduce the heat to medium low and cook for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the beans and cook for about 5 minutes. To thicken, mash the squash and potatoes against the side of the pan with the back of a large spoon. Remove the soup from the heat and let stand for about ten minutes.

The recipe was "inspired" again because it called for turnips rather than carrots, canola oil rather than olive, 1 Tbs dried parsley (I didn't have any), and 1 diced yellow onion (I didn't have one).

It's soup, so you could just eat it on its own, but I decided to serve it over rice.

Ultimately, it was good, but could have used a little salt, and maybe something acidic, like a squeeze of lime or lemon juice. As recipes go, actually yesterday's curry (which I entirely made up) was probably better.


* I do not actually think that Monkeygirl and my mom, the only two people known to read this blog, actually have "carniverous Superbowl party buddies," or that either will host a Superbowl party at all. Nevertheless, the chili is excellent.