Holy Hominy! That's Good Chili!

I've never heard of hominy, never cooked with hominy and never had a desire to try hominy... but I'm sure glad I did!

Michael and I made another recipe from the February Food & Wine magazine called Winter Vegetable Chili. And you know Michael, he's not one to flock to a vegetarian recipe, but we are definitely making this again.

It's quick (under an hour, which is quick by chili standards), super easy, and healthy! Oh, and it's great for leftovers (I'm having some for lunch today!).

You need a blender or food processor for this recipe.

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, very finely chopped (we just put it in the garlic press)
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 pound carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Salt
One 14-ounce can peeled Italian tomatoes
1 canned chipotle in adobo, plus 1 tablespoon extra adobo sauce from the can
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup canned hominy, drained
1 cup canned red kidney beans, drained
Brown rice, chopped red onions, cilantro, sour cream and tortilla chips or bread toasts, for serving

DIRECTIONS

In a medium, heavy enameled cast-iron casserole or Dutch oven, heat the oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over high heat, stirring, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the bell pepper, parsnips and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned in spots, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chile powder and cumin and season with salt. Cook for 1 minute.

In a blender, puree the tomatoes and their juices with the chipotle, adobo sauce and water until very smooth. Add the mixture to the casserole along with the hominy and beans and bring to a boil. Cover partially and simmer the chili over moderate heat until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Season with salt.

It's a tad on the soupy side and has a kick to it so we ate it over steamed brown rice and topped it with chopped red onions, cilantro and sour cream. Delish!