Nigella Lawson's Vegetarian Chili with Cornbread

[blazedog]

Today's NY Times had what I thought was a really good recipe for chili in Nigella Lawson's column. She suggests cooking it on the weekend up to the cornbread stage and then baking it with the cornbread topping when ready to eat.

Vegetarian Chili With Corn Bread Topping

For the chili:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups red bell peppers (about 2 large peppers), finely diced
2 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 1/2 cups red lentils
3 cups canned chopped tomatoes
3 1/2 cups drained canned kidney beans
 1/4 cup ketchup
 1/4 cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder


For the corn bread topping:
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups cornmeal
2 tablespoons flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup coarsely grated Cheddar cheese


For serving:
2 cups sour cream
1 cup chopped cilantro.


1. To prepare chili, heat olive oil over medium-low heat in a deep, wide pan with a lid. Add onions, garlic and bell peppers, and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in red pepper flakes, coriander, cumin and cardamom pods. Stir in lentils.


2. Add chopped tomatoes, kidney beans, ketchup, tomato paste, cocoa and 3 cups water. Stir well. Cover, and simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture is thickened and beans are tender, about 45 minutes. Chili can be made ahead to this point and topping added later. (In that case, cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 days, bringing to room temperature before proceeding.)


3. For corn bread topping, heat oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine salt, cornmeal, flour, baking powder and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, honey and oil. Pour liquid ingredients into dry; stir until combined.


4. Pour chili into a baking dish 13 by 9 by 3 inches. Spread corn bread topping evenly over chili, and sprinkle cheese on topping. Bake until topping has risen and turned golden brown, about 25 minutes.


5. Remove from oven, and let chili stand about 5 minutes. To serve, cut into squares, and pass sour cream and cilantro at the table.


Yield: 8 servings.

[sherri]

Thanks for posting the recipe. It looks like a good lunch dish, since it would probably be easy to make (minus the cornbread), plus hearty with the lentils. I will have to try it soon.

[kima]

I made this for dinner last night and we all really enjoyed it.
I halved the recipe but did keep the ketchup and tomato paste measurements as in the full recipe. I also used black beans instead of kidney beans and chili powder instead of the hot red chili peppers. It fit nicely into an 8x8 inch pan.

Having leftover for lunch today -perfect for our cold, blustery weaher.