Carolyn's Lamb Chili

I have been asked for my lamb chili recipe, which we had last weekend, at our loom loading party. I didn't use a "recipe" per se, but I will try to reconstruct it. This makes a lot of chili.

Carolyn's Lamb Chili

3.5 lbs ground lamb, or a mixture of ground lamb and beef
5 good sized yellow onions, peeled and chopped
a lot of garlic -- at least half a head, peeled and chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, minced and seeded
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 smaller can diced tomatoes and green chiles
1 glass of red wine (can you tell that I like to cook with wine?)
1 tbsp ground cumin
     (preferably, whole, toasted in a dry skillet and then ground in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle)
2 tsp oregano
pinch cinnamon
bay leaf
about half a small can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
     (look for this either in gourmet shops or, much more cheaply, in Hispanic grocery stores)
1 large (32 oz) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 green bell peppers, diced
handful of chopped cilantro
red wine vinegar

Brown lamb in large heavy skillet. Drain most of the fat. Add onions, garlic, jalapenos, and dried spices. Saute for a while until the onions wilt and become golden. Add wine to the pan and scrape the browned bits up from the bottom.

Pour into slow cooker (or into large heavy stewpot). Add tomatoes and chipotles (whiz the chipotles around in a food processor, or chop them up finely first).

Cook in slow cooker on low for about 8 hours, or on very low flame covered, on the stove, for about 3-4 hours.

Add beans and bell peppers, continue to cook until bell peppers are soft (if using the slow cooker, turn it to high, and cook for another hour, if on the stove, just cook them until they are soft but not mushy).

Just before serving, add cilantro, and a glug of red wine vinegar.

I did the chili overnight in the slow cooker, then added the beans and peppers in the morning. Use fewer chipotles if you like it milder.

Carolyn
(12/6/00)