For some reason, making chilli has never been my strong suit. I always looked forward to the days my mom would make chilli, especially if she had some cornmeal muffins to go with it. It's a staple I will probably never be able to truly recreate, but this chilli recipe does help ease the pain. It's got flavour, texture, and fibre positively exploding with every spoonful. You really can't ask for more.
Though I'm sure you could figure it out from the title, this is not a traditional chilli in any sense. It's loaded up with vegetables, beans, and the tortellini adds just a little bit of a treat. This recipe has a lot going on - and as a result, made so much chilli I had to freeze a good portion of it for another time. If, say, for simplicity's sake, you wanted to leave out the beef for a vegetarian chilli or lose a can of beans for a meatier version, I don't think anyone could rightfully get upset. One of my favourite parts of cooking is tweaking it here and there to make it yours. It's all about the little things, you know?
Beef Tortellini Chilli-Stew
Author: Amanda
Difficulty: easy
Serves: 8-10+
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 4 fresh tomatoes, diced
- 1 large can crushed tomatoes
- 1 package fresh cheese tortellini
- 1 can black beans (or 1/3 cup dried, soaked overnight, and simmered till soft)
- 1 can great northern beans (or 1/3 cup dried, soaked overnight, and simmered till soft)
- 1 can red kidney beans (or 1/3 cup dried, soaked overnight, and simmered till soft)
- 3 cups beef broth or water
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon chilli powder
- salt and pepper, to taste
- toppings such as diced avocado, sour cream, plain unflavoured yoghurt, or shredded cheese
Directions
Brown beef over medium heat in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add onion and garlic and saute until softened. Add diced bell peppers and fresh tomatoes, and allow to cook until softened. Add crushed tomatoes, drained and rinsed beans, beef broth, tortellini, and seasonings to the pot and bring to a simmer. Simmer covered for 30-45 minutes. Serve with desired toppings.
Step-by-Step Photos
I stopped using canned beans a couple years ago, and really can't see myself going back. I love beans, and there's a world of freshness locked in dried beans that is too good to pass up (and they're cheaper to boot!). Since I typically use black beans the most, I cook batches ahead of time and portion them in the freezer to pull out as needed, which is almost as easy as opening a can. Budget Bytes has a great guide on making beans ahead of time. However, if you need to prepare the night before, soak the beans in separate containers or else they will leech their colours onto each other. (That goes for boiling, too.) It won't affect the flavour, but it won't be as pretty of a final product. Simmer the soaked beans in a small pot until soft, about 30-45 minutes or so. If you are using canned beans, disregard this portion, and just remember to rinse off the beans before adding them to the chilli.
Brown beef over medium heat in a large pot or Dutch oven. I didn't end up using any extra oil, but if your beef is super lean it might be worth throwing in a splash of vegetable oil. Use a wooden spoon to break up the beef into small pieces.
Add the diced onion and minced garlic and continue to cook over medium heat until the onion is soft and translucent, around five minutes.
Add the diced bell peppers and tomatoes.
Stir occasionally, and continue to cook until the tomatoes have started to lose their shape and the peppers are softened.
Add the seasonings, beef broth (or water!), crushed tomatoes, beans and tortellini to the pot. Stir well to combine, and bring to a simmer.
Simmer covered with the lid tilted to let off excess steam for 30-45 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Serve with desired toppings.
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