Four Bean Veggie Chili

     The other night, I came home from an evening shift at work and had a craving for chili. I decided to recreate a Bosnian dish similar to chili that my mom made growing up called grah. Grah is a pretty simple recipe as far as ingredients go; beans, one onion, some water, vegeta (a Bosnian spice) and paprika, but it takes a while to cook (3-4 hours). Yikes! That's way too long after coming home hungry at 11.30 at night. 

     

     I decided to rummage through my pantry for cans of beans, and sure enough I found them! I also had some vegetables in the fridge, and decided to start cooking! My fiance was in bed at this time, and since working my evening shifts messes with my circadian rhythm anyway, I decided this would also be a nice lunch for him to take to work. (It is midnight now as I'm writing this, so clearly my evening shifts take a toll on my sleeping schedule). I was worried that it wouldn't turn out to be very good, but my fiance called the next day and said it was the best chili he'd ever eaten! I dare you guys to give it a try too :)

• 1 yellow or red onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 5 celery stalks
• 1 large red pepper
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1 can pinto beans
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoon Mediterranean seasoning, or any herb seasoning
• Salt and pepper  
• 1 avocado and croutons for garnish (optional)

     To begin, I added a chopped red onion to saute on medium high heat in a wide, large dish for about 2 minutes. I then added the chopped red pepper, celery, and garlic and allowed that to saute about 5 minutes.

     I then added the paprika, red pepper flakes, Mediterranean seasoning, salt, and pepper and allowed that to cook about a minute before adding one cup of chicken broth.

     After about 5 minutes, I added all the beans as well as the beans and tomato paste. I topped it all off with the remaining chicken broth and allowed it to simmer on medium high heat for about 30-45 minutes. 

     I garnished my dish with half an avocado, diced, and some croutons. The chili was phenomenal, and there was still a bit of a crunch from the celery and red pepper. If you don't like that and want it to be a little more tender, just cook for an additional hour.