This one was yummy. Almost a veggie stew. We kept it on the mild side.
First we browned
1 lb of ground beef in a little
olive oil and salt and pepper in a big pot. When it was all good we took it out at put it aside.
This gave us some time to chop up
1/2 big yellow onion,
2 cloves of garlic,
1 eggplant (Aubergine sounds much better, doesn't it?),
1 zucchini, and
3 carrots.
Loosening the leftover beef crumbs, we softened the garlic and onion in some more olive oil for a minute or two.
Then we added all the other veggies, sauteed and almost caramelized them a little for about ten minutes.
Then we chopped up a handful of oregano leaves and tossed them,
2 cans of red kidney beans,
1 small can of chopped tomatoes,
ground cumin, and the beef to the mix. We added enough water to barely cover all the goodness. Finally we let it all cook for a good while, maybe 15 or twenty minutes, till everything smelled and jelled good. We adjusted the seasoning with some more salt and pepper. Voila!
To serve we offered ciabatta bread, and chopped scallions. The hardy souls got some red pepper spice to sharpen the focus on the chili a little.
It was surprisingly well received. In a few bowls there was some careful maneuvering around the eggplant, but Lena and Lily announced that they really like red kidney beans.
The origins of this dish can be found with a recipe from food writer Mark Bittman.
