Crisp summer corn kernels, tender black-eyed peas and lots of smoky flavor goes into this tasty caramelized onion chili.
How's your summer going? I'm hanging in there, though my allergies are killing me. I don't think I ever suffered from any allergies at all up until about ten years ago, and they've gotten progressively worse every year since. Working at home among the trees and pollen can be rough business. Also, working at home in the summer gives me freedom to do things like have conversations about patent law with my cats before I realize the window right next to me is open and my neighbors are nearby, pretending not to notice. It's okay. They already think I'm nuts, after watching me stand on chairs to take pictures of my food for the last couple of years.
Sorry. Let's start again. I might be a little cranky, with the 90+ degree temperatures currently going on.
Summer has it's good qualities. Someone recently mentioned that we're into chili season. I never really thought of summer as chili season, but it works. Nothing takes the edge off my heat wave grumpiness like blasting air conditioning and a bowl full of chili.
Since we're just into summer and summer is chili season, I went and made a chili based around some summer corn. Corn is actually one of those things that I'll just throw into any old pot of chili if I've got it on hand. That little bit of extra frozen corn that's hanging in the back of the freezer? It wants to go into some chili. So corn and chili are no strangers in my kitchen, but for once I decided to create a chili around some sweet summer corn. Lots of smoky flavors and tender black-eyed peas compliment the sweet crunch of fresh corn in this chili. And then there's caramelized onion, which takes a bit of time to cook up but is an absolutely and totally brilliant and fantastic addition to this, or any chili for that matter. Caramelizing an onion, in case you've never done it, takes forever, but it's totally worth it, and a very satisfying process as you transform a regular old onion into a heap of sweet, flavorful, melt-in your mouth deliciousness. Once you've gotten that part of the cooking done, everything else comes together quickly. You can sub frozen corn if make this when fresh isn't in season, but definitely go for fresh if it's available.
Smoky Sweet Corn, Black-Eyed Pea and Caramelized Onion Chili
Ingredients
- 4 medium onions sliced
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 3 ½ cups or 2-14 oz. cans black-eyed peas rinsed and drained
- 2-14 oz. cans diced tomatoes
- 2 cups fresh sweet corn kernels about 3 ears, could sub frozen
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 3 tbsp. maple syrup
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
- 2 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tsp. chipotle chili powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. black pepper
Instructions
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Place onion slices and oil into large saucepan over medium-low heat. Flip a few times to coat the onions. Allow to cook, uncovered, flipping occasionally, until onions are lightly browned and caramelized, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
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Remove half of the onions from saucepan and transfer to a dish. Add remaining ingredients to saucepan and stir to incorporate. Raise heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Lower heat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes, adding a bit more water if mixture becomes too thick.
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Ladle into bowls and top with reserved onions. Serve.
It sounds like we're in the same boat, Alissa! I work from home, too, and have conversations about copyediting with my rabbit. Even when the windows are open!
I love that this uses black eyed peas. I'm not wild about them, but I know they're very good for you, so I'm trying to learn how to like them. Using them in a chili would be a good way to cover up their flavor. And this recipe would be an easy start-it-early-and-work-for-awhile-longer recipe, since the onion needs to caramelize for so long. Thanks for sharing!
Haha! Glad to hear it's not just me!
This is definitely the way to go if you want to cover up the flavor of the black-eyed peas. If you're reeeeaaaly not into them though, I'm sure this chili would be just as good with some other type of beans. :)
Thanks for this recipe, I love it.
You had me at caramelized onions. I will be making this tonight! Question. Do you take probiotics? Come to find out that's what really helped with Gabby's allergies. It's all connected to the gut. Couldn't hurt to try!
I don't take a probiotic supplement, but I do drink lots of kombucha and eat probiotic rich foods. I'll have to look into supplements to see if there's anything that's particularly effective for allergies. I was taking stinging nettle and it helped for a while, but the effect seemed to wear off...or maybe the pollen count just increased. Thanks for the suggestion! I hope you enjoy the chili!
I used your recipe and made a mail meal of it by adding brown basmati rice and some roasted Mediterranean veg. It was delicious . Thanks
Yum - I ate this with crusty bread, but basmati rice sounds fantastic. Glad you enjoyed this. Thanks Karen!!
What? Not everone holds conversations with their companion animals......
What do you think about me just not adding the maple syrup. No sugar replacement.
Sounds like a yum recipe!
Thank you
Lol! Glad it's not just me. ;) I think this would still be tasty without the maple syrup!