If you’re the kind of person who really avoids chiles, in any way, shape or form, this heat-less beef and pinto bean soup/chili may be just up your alley. But even for people who like spicy foods (me), this mixture is full of flavor. It has one different ingredient in it too – something I’ve never used before. Intrigued? Read on.
When I read this recipe over at Kalyn’s Kitchen, it just looked and sounded so good. Maybe it was merely because it’s late summer here in Southern California and I haven’t had chili for many, many months. In fact, Kalyn doesn’t even call this chili, but pinto bean and beef soup. In her photo, it looked like chili and my brain and taste buds looked at it and said chili! Maybe the last time I made something similar it was turkey chili last Thanksgiving.
We were still in summer doldrums when I read the recipe, but I went about gathering all the ingredients. I’d intended to try Kalyn’s pressure-cooker method of cooking beans. But we ended up going to our Palm Desert house, and I don’t have a pressure cooker there (I’d intended to take along the one I have, but forgot). So, I made it the old fashioned way by soaking the beans for about 6 hours and slowly simmering them until they were “just right.” And then making the chili and simmering it on the stove for 45 minutes.
The soup/chili mixture is standard – onions, garlic, ground beef, beans and (typical chili) seasonings. What’s different about this one is: (1) there is no heat in it – no chiles of any kind, not even black pepper, so this mixture is not hot – at all; and (2) it uses dried cilantro. I’ve never owned dried cilantro. Why should I, when we can buy fresh cilantro year ‘round at our local markets? But Kalyn mentions in the recipe that using the dried cilantro is highly recommended. I trusted Kalyn’s judgment here, so I went out and bought dried cilantro. Imagine my surprise when, after simmering the chili (with the dried cilantro in it) for the requisite 45 minutes, I tasted it. Wow. Citrus. Lemon or lime juice to be exact – yet there was no citrus in the chili up to that point. It’s the cilantro that gives it that citrusy taste – probably from the cilantro stems. To me, there was no typical cilantro taste – what I know of as cilantro taste from the fresh herbs – just the citrus. I need to remember this for use in other dishes. At the very end you add in freshly squeezed lime juice, then for garnish some freshly chopped green onions and chopped cilantro. No cheese needed at all. Thank you, Kalyn.
What I liked: the fresh taste of it all – this is not a complex-flavored chili (which is probably why Kalyn called it a soup!) but a quick-cooking type (and you can use canned beans if you don’t want to take the time to cook the beans). And that’s a big compliment. Usually I like as much complex flavors as I can get in a soup mixture, but in this one I really liked the simple-ness of it. The chicken broth adds lots of flavor too (usually I would use beef or pork broth, but this one particularly calls for chicken broth). All in all, this one’s a winner.
What I didn’t like: not a thing, really. Just know this is a “lighter” version of traditional chili – not lighter in calories so much as lighter in flavor and complexity. It’s a delicious soup/chili – don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I liked it a lot, no matter what it’s called!
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No Heat Chili (or Beef and Bean Soup)
Recipe By: Kalyn’s Kitchen blog, 10/2012
Serving Size: 6
1 cup dried pinto beans — unsoaked (or can use 2 cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained)
2 tablespoons olive oil — divided use
1 pound ground beef — (Kalyn uses ground beef with less than 10% fat)
1 teaspoon Spike seasoning
1 whole onion — chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons dried oregano — Mexican, not Greek
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried cilantro — (not required, but recommended)
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup water — or liquid from the beans
2 tablespoons tomato paste
14 1/2 ounces canned tomatoes — diced
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup fresh cilantro — or more to taste (highly recommended)
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
1. Soak pinto beans overnight covered in cold water. Drain. Add fresh water, covering beans by at least an inch, bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes, or until tender. Drain, but reserve liquid.
2. Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in large heavy frying pan (large enough to hold all of the chili/soup mixture, add ground beef and season with Spike seasoning, then saute until beef is well-browned, breaking apart as it cooks. When it’s well browned, remove beef and set aside.
3. Heat 2 tsp. more olive oil in same frying pan, then add onion and saute about 5 minutes, or until onion is starting to brown. Add minced garlic and saute 2 minutes more, then add Mexican oregano, cumin, and dried cilantro. Saute about 2 minutes more.
4. Add beans, ground beef, chicken stock and a cup of bean liquid or water. Bring to a simmer, then add tomato paste and canned tomatoes.
5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring once or twice. Add lime juice and continue cooking for another minute. Taste for seasonings (salt), spoon portions into soup bowls and add sliced green onion and chopped fresh cilantro. Add additional chopped cilantro to add at the table if desired.
Per Serving: 439 Calories; 26g Fat (53.0% calories from fat); 23g Protein; 29g Carbohydrate; 10g Dietary Fiber; 64mg Cholesterol; 587mg Sodium.
. This was the finale of the dinner and I was all over it. So soft and tender a cake and the subtle flavors. If you like blueberries – and nutmeg – you’ll like it too. Easy to make for sure. The blueberries kind of sink down into the batter during the baking process – it’s not frosting or an icing there – but it makes for a really pretty appearance, I think.
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