chili con hongos for rubricity

[eub]

(I can't say "con fungi" any more without thinking of three days without showering. Thanks much.)

con hongos hacked from the The Best Recipe recipe for con carne:

mushrooms of choice or opportunity, 1.5 lb.
Clean the &^*@#%$!^*% things.

dried peppers, 3 ancho and 3 guajillo, or whatever you like. Toast for five minutes in a 350° oven, seed, shred, and powder in a food processor.
cumin, 2 T. Heat in a dry skillet for a few minutes, then grind.
oregano, 2 t. Grind.
Mix peppers, cumin, and oregano with 1/2 c. water.

one medium onion, chopped. Saute until softened.
Add five cloves of garlic, minced; cook a couple of minutes.
Add chili paste; cook a few more minutes. To this in large pot,
Add crushed or diced tomatoes, 15-oz can.
Add mushrooms and water not quite to cover.
Salt, if tomatoes are not salted.

Simmer until mushrooms are approaching your desired texture. Not long.
Add beans, 2×15 oz or cooked from 1 c. dried (I'm guessing).
Color-coordinated bell pepper, some hot peppers, chopped.
If you like, 1/4 c. tolerable red wine. Or less. I regretted 1/3 c.
Juice of a smallish lime.
As to thickening: a few tablespoons of cornstarch and/or instant masa mix, in a little cold water. I personally like the cornstarch better; it doesn't blunt the chilies.

Bring back to a simmer. Eat.

Comments

thanks!

[rubricity.livejournal.com]

That sounds delicious. I'm definitely going to give it a try.

[eub.livejournal.com]

Don't try to cover the mushrooms with water. Raw mushrooms float, and shrink on cooking, and if you add nearly that much water, your chili won't end up mushroomy enough.