I must admit that I would have never thought of Eggplant in a dish served as chilli until I ran across a recipe posted on Nutritionity.com
called Eggplant Caponata. Although we love chilli made with beans, my goal for this dish was to make a veggie based chilli with a hearty texture and lots of flavor! Mission accomplished!
A few of my favorite kitchen tools helped bring this delicious dish together very quickly – a veggie chopper and the Instant Pot.
The veggie cutter I bought from Walmart. I used to dread chopping veggies, now its a breeze! Not to mention that the Instant Pot makes preparing delicious meals almost effortless and in less time!
This chilli is oh so delicious served over a Potato, Quinoa, Rice, a bed of Kale or even a head of Cauliflower. This dish is sure to be a taste bud pleaser and an anytime of day belly pleaser!
So, stop walking pass the Eggplant on your produce aisle. Purchase some eggplant and give this sweet, smokey chilli a go!
“HOW TO PREP”
https://youtu.be/F-6zd9cG-YY
Eggplant Chilli
Ingredients
- 1 Eggplant, Large (at least 1 1/2 lb)
- 1 Yellow Onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cup)
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, diced (about 3/4 cup)
- 1 Green Bell Pepper, diced (about 3/4 cup)
- 3 Celery Stalks, diced (about 1 cup)
- Carrot, medium, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 cup White Button Mushrooms, chopped
- 2 Tbsb Chilli Powder
- 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
- 2 tsp Onion Powder
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp Ancho Chile Pepper use 1/4 tsp for less spicy flavor)
- 1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast
- 1 Tbsp Liquid Smoke, Mesquite
Tomato Sauce Blend
- 8 oz Tomato Sauce, Unsalted
- 6 oz Tomato Paste, Unsalted
- 1.5 oz Medjool Date, pitted (about 3 Medjools or 6 Deglet Dates)
- 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar, Raw, Unfiltered
- 1 Tbsp Garlic, minced
Garnish (optional)
- Nutritional Yeast (optional for garnish)
- Green Onions, chopped (optional for garnish)
Instructions
- Chop all veggies and set aside.
- Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, dates, apple cider vinegar and garlic to blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Using the "sautee" mode on the Instant Pot, sautee all the veggies, EXCEPT chopped eggeplant for 7 minutes. No Oil is needed for sauteeing. If veggies began to stick add 1 tbsp of water as needed to keep veggies from sticking.
- Add all spices to sauteed veggies and stir well. Then add tomato sauce blend to sauteed veggies and stir well.
- Add chopped eggplant to Instant Pot and mix well. Cook on "Manual" mode for 8minutes. Allow the pot to naturally release the pressure for 10 minutes. Open pot and give another stir thru.
- Serve over a Potato, Rice, Quinoa, or Greens of choice!
Great