Chunky Vegetarian Chili

We clinched a playoff spot this week and I didn't celebrate the way I normally would. The milestone felt smaller this year, not because it doesn't matter but because I've been operating on a longer timeline since Ruben died. Winning a division title used to feel like an endpoint. Now it feels like a waypoint. Where are we going? What are we building? What will these kids remember in thirty years?

I've been thinking about him more lately, which tracks with the season. October feels like him — the bite in the air, the way the light goes golden and orange, the Friday night electricity he used to feel from whatever base or forward operating base he was at when I'd text him our scores. He always texted back within the hour. I don't know how, but he always did.

Made green chile stew this week — real New Mexico style, with pork, potatoes, hominy. I use my roasted Hatch chiles from September, which by October have softened perfectly in the freezer. Lisa said it smelled like her mother's kitchen, which is the highest compliment I can receive. Her mother, Gloria, grew up in Española and makes the stew with a technique that involves toasting the flour before making the roux. I tried it Gloria's way. The depth of flavor was noticeably different — nuttier, more complex. Added it to my permanent repertoire.

The twins are obsessed with pumpkins right now. They made me take them to three different pumpkin patches before deciding on the right ones. Three pumpkin patches on a Saturday afternoon. I'm a man who coaches a football team of fifty teenagers and I could not out-negotiate two five-year-olds. This is humbling in a way nothing else is.

The stew I made this week had Gloria’s flour-toasting technique running through it, and I found myself thinking about how the best cooking passes between people quietly — through a text, a phone call, a mother-in-law’s kitchen. This chunky vegetarian chili is the version I reach for when I want that same depth without the long pork braise: bold, thick, and built for a cool October night when the house needs to smell like something real. Make it with fire-roasted green chiles if you can find them — that’s where the whole thing comes alive.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups diced zucchini (about 2 medium)
1 can (15 oz) fire-roasted diced green chiles, drained
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz) hominy, rinsed and drained
1 can (28 oz) crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (toasted in dry skillet until golden)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
Salt and black pepper to taste
Optional toppings: sour cream, shredded Monterey Jack, sliced green onions, warm flour tortillas

Instructions

Toast the flour. In a small dry skillet over medium heat, add the flour and stir constantly for 2—3 minutes until it turns a light golden color and smells nutty. Remove from heat and set aside. This technique — borrowed from a classic New Mexico roux — adds noticeable depth to the finished chili.
Sauté the aromatics. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5—6 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Build the base. Sprinkle the toasted flour over the vegetables and stir to coat evenly. Cook for 1 minute. Add the cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, and cayenne, stirring constantly for 30 seconds to bloom the spices.
Add the bulk. Stir in the zucchini, green chiles, black beans, pinto beans, hominy, crushed tomatoes, and vegetable broth. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Simmer. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered for 25—30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chili has thickened and the zucchini is fully tender. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, and cayenne.
Serve. Ladle into bowls and top as desired with sour cream, shredded Monterey Jack, and sliced green onions. Serve with warm flour tortillas.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chunky Vegetarian Chili — The Stew That Smelled Like Gloria’s Kitchen