I am about to jet off to Italy, and I couldn't be more excited! I realize that many people go there to indulge in an abundance of food that can often taste delicious but that's often far from healthy, especially when it comes to bread and pasta.
It will most certainly be a challenge to find dishes that will accommodate my better lifestyle choices, but this is a challenge I will face head-on, as nothing can stop me from visiting such a beautiful place.
I also have to remind myself that there are already many Italian specialties that are perfectly healthy and that seafood and meat dishes are also abundant.
Anyways, in preparation for my adventure, I decided to dedicate an afternoon to making a traditional Italian meat sauce similar to the one found in the Paleo spaghetti recipe. But, since I don't eat pasta, I decided to cook the sauce some more to obtain something really thick and filling, something more along the lines of a beanless chili. The result was great.
Unlike most chili preparations, this version isn't spicy at all, which is the version I personally prefer. The beef, coupled with mushrooms and beefy tomatoes, make for a really thick and filling end product.
This dish is complete on its own and doesn't need the addition of the usual beans, which, like most grains, contain undesirable phytates and lectins.
Granted, beans are probably a healthier choice than some grains like wheat and corn, as well as some legumes like peanuts and soybeans, but it's still a better idea to keep them off of your diet.
This beanless chili cooks for quite some time, but the involvement in preparing it is minimal, and the aroma that will fill your house is absolutely amazing. To me, this is what comfort food is all about.
Beanless chili recipe
Serves: 8
Ingredients
- 3 quarts (2.8 liters) good quality canned tomatoes;
- 5 lbs ground beef;
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil;
- 6 cloves garlic, minced;
- 1 onion, finely chopped;
- 5 celery stalks, chopped;
- 5 carrots, chopped;
- 4 cups button mushrooms, chopped;
- 3 bay leaves;
- 3 thyme sprigs;
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped;
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;
Preparation
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef with some cooking fat if needed.
- In a very large saucepan over medium heat, saute the garlic in olive oil. Cook for about 2 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the onion, celery, carrots, and mushrooms to the saucepan. Stir well and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.
- Add the canned tomatoes, followed by the cooked ground beef. Stir well.
- Drop in the bay leaves, thyme, and parsley.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, for about 4 hours or until thick, stirring occasionally.
- Adjust the seasoning by adding salt or pepper, if needed, and remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.
Be aware this recipe makes quite a large batch, but it's great for freezing! You can simply pour individual portions into freezer-proof plastic bags and freeze them. Then, once you feel like having a good bowl of delicious and comforting chili, you simply have to pull a portion out of the freezer.
📖 Recipe
Beanless chili recipe
Ingredients
- 3 quarts 2.8 liters good quality canned tomatoes
- 5 lbs ground beef
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 5 celery stalks chopped
- 5 carrots chopped
- 4 cups button mushrooms chopped
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef with some cooking fat if needed.
- In a very large saucepan over medium heat, saute the garlic in olive oil. Cook for about 2 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant.1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 6 cloves garlic
- Add the onion, celery, carrots, and mushrooms to the saucepan. Stir well and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.1 onion, 5 celery stalks, 5 carrots, 4 cups button mushrooms
- Add the canned tomatoes, followed by the cooked ground beef. Stir well.3 quarts 2.8 liters good quality canned tomatoes, 5 lbs ground beef
- Drop in the bay leaves, thyme, and parsley.3 thyme sprigs, 2 tablespoon fresh parsley, 3 bay leaves
- Season to taste with salt and pepper, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, for about 4 hours or until thick, stirring occasionally.Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Adjust the seasoning by adding salt or pepper, if needed, and remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.
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