Sweet Potato Veggie Chili

When the weather starts to get cold, the only things I want to eat are soups, stews and chilies.  These three dishes are pretty obvious since they are warm and hearty. I don't typically eat a lot of meat, so to compensate for that, I like to load up these types of dishes with a lot of different vegetables and whole-lot of spices.

This sweet potato veggie chili is exactly the kind of dish that I crave on a chilly evening. The vegetables that I put in are robust and flavorful, and the spices add another layer of warmth besides the temperature. To cool off some of the spice and balance the sweetness of the honey, I like to add some crème fraîche or goat cheese on top.

Here is how I did it:

Sweet Potato Veggie Chili

Sweet Potato Veggie Chili
- 1/2 onion
- 3 shallots
- 1 clove of garlic
- 3 large stocks of celery
- 1/2 pound of carrots (peeled)
-  2 large sweet potatoes (peeled)
- 1/2 a large eggplant (peeled)
- 12 oz can of kidney beans
- 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
-12 oz water
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 tbs chili powder
- 1 tbs cinnamon
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp hot pepper flakes
- 3 tbs honey
- Salt and pepper to taste

Heat up two tbs of olive oil in a large saucepan. Chop up half an onion, three shallots and one clove of garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Take the celery, carrots, sweet potatoes and eggplant and chop them up into medium sized pieces. Sauté the vegetables with the onions and shallots for about 5-10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

Add the can of kidney beans, crushed tomatoes and to the vegetables. Add the chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, pepper flakes and honey and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Let the chili simmer under low heat for about 30-45 minutes, until the vegetables are completely cooked through.

Serve with crème fraîche or goat cheese.

Enjoy!