Green Tomato Beef Chili

Submitted by Sirenaenelmar

"I have a lot of leftover green tomatoes from my monstruous tomato plants, so I decided to put them to use. They really absorb any flavor you add to them and make this recipe bold and robust. The chili peppers (thai hot) and cayenne, as well as the cilantro are all from my garden, but please feel free to work with what you have. Try roasting your peppers a little bit on a pan or in the oven to give it some smokiness. Season your meat beforehand and go a little heavy on your pepper and other spices. You can substitute beef for chicken or turkey, but make sure you season very well. For a vegetarian alternative, mix refried beans into the tomato puree as it's heating up to make it thick and add your veggies of choice 30 mins before serving."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 20mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 2 cups green tomatoes, put through food processor
• 1⁄2 cup red ripe tomato (or tomato paste or sauce)
• 1⁄4 cup paprika
• 1⁄2 cup fresh chili pepper (or 1 cup roasted sweet peppers )
• 1 1⁄2 cups onions (chopped)
• 1 lb beef steak (cubed)
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 1⁄2 cups beans (chickpeas, red, pinto, whichever you like)
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper (and or or red pepper)
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro

directions

1. Season the steak (pretty heavily) and chop into cubes. Season ground beef also. Set aside.
2. In a skillet on medium-high, throw peppers on there to heat up and roast for 10 minutes or until they have dark spots.
3. In the meantime, chop up green tomatoes (about 5 large ones) and, if using ripe tomatoes, chop those up also. Once the peppers have started showing dark spots, remove from skillet and throw into food processor, along with the tomatoes and onions.You can add the paprika then to the tomato puree or wait until everything's combined.
4. Add the cubed steak to the skillet and sear until it is just pink in the center.
5. Throw into crockpot (or wherever you will make the chili).
6. Cook seasoned ground beef.
7. Add tomato/onion/pepper puree to crockpot (or pot on stove) and mix with steak.
8. Finally, add the cooked ground beef.
9. Once the contents are hot and have been boiling for 15 minutes, add the beans. If they are not canned, add between 1/2 and 1 cup of water to the pot. This will depend on if you want the chili to be ready quickly or if you want to let it simmer in the crockpot for a few hours. I think that the more you let it simmer, the better it tastes.