Sweet & Spicy Pineapple Chili
When chili tastes this good, it becomes a year-round staple that you just can’t seem to ever have any left-overs for.
My whole life i grew up irritated about chili only being made and served at my home in the winter. My mom called it a warm stew that just didnt have a place in our fresh middle eastern, summer diet loaded with vibrant fresh veggies, salads and grilled meats. Well, sorry, Ma, but i’m making my own rules here. Chili doesn’t have to be heavy. It doesn’t have to feel like you ate a brick. My chili here is actually super light and incorporates those delicious Middle Eastern flavors i grew up loving (ie grilled green onions & grilled tomatoes). Oh, and by the way, pineapple may sound weird as an addition to chili, but trust me, this is one of those flavor combinations you’re going to wish you were familiar with your whole life. Give this recipe a try. Show some love and leave some feedback. If you make this dish and post it on social media, tag it with the hashtag #HHrecipes.
Total Time: 5 hours
Yield: 10 servings
Ingredients:
1. 1 large onion diced
2. 3 cloves of garlic crushed
3. 1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
4. 1 lb ground beef
5. 2 tsp turmeric
6. 2 tbsp Herb de Provence
7. 1 tbsp ground cumin
8. 1 tbsp paprika
9. 1 1/2 tsp cayenne
10. 1 tbsp salt
11. 4 large tomatoes diced
12. 1 cup pineapple diced finely
13. 3 green onions
14. 2 tbsp tomato paste
15. 4 cups warm water
16. 1 bunch cilantro chopped
17. 1 can black beans (15 oz)
Method:
1. Use a grill, the flame from your stove, or the broiler in your oven to char 1 tomato & the 3 green onions until they are very soft and wilted. You want the tomato to look stewed. Once you’ve charred and cooked them, set them aside as they will be added to your chili towards the end of the recipe.
2. Saute your large, diced onion with the garlic in a large pot with the coconut oil on medium heat. You want the onion and garlic to become fragrant and wilted, not crispy and brown- if the onion and garlic cook too much on too high of a heat, they will omit a bitter flavor that we do not want in our chili.
3. Add the ground beef to the wilted onions and garlic and crush with a wooden spoon until it is crumbly and cooking evenly.
4. At this point, add all of your spices to the meat, onion and garlic mixture ( turmeric, Herb de Provence, cumin, paprika, cayenne and salt). Allow the spices to cook with the juice of the meat for a few minutes.
5. Add the remaining 3 fresh diced tomatoes to your pot, set the heat to low, cover and allow the tomatoes to breakdown and cook into the beef and spice mixture. This process will take about 45 minutes so keep the heat on low and stir occasionally.
6. Once your tomatoes are cooked down for 45 minutes, add your diced pineapple to the pot and continue to simmer on low with the lid on for about 1 hour. Keep the heat on low and stir occasionally, as always.
6. After an hour of the pineapple cooking down, stir your tomato paste with your warm water until dissolved and add the mixture to your pot. Cover and let simmer on low for 2 hours. Keep the heat on low and stir occasionally.
7. At this point, add your chopped cilantro, black beans and diced and charred tomato and green onions to the pot. Stir, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes before removing from the heat and serving!
