Raw Chili Dip

Nothing like a delicious raw vegan potluck to reignite an interest in raw cuisine.

Lately my meals have been fairly simple, including my foray into raw foods. I have made more elaborate raw dishes in the past (like this nut-free raw lasagna), but currently enjoying the freedom of a simple kitchen.

This is a dish I had been meaning to try ever since Ellen recommended it to me: Matthew Kenney’s Raw Chili. I changed the ingredients slightly (no celery please! does that even go in chili?) and omitted the nuts entirely.  Cooked chilis are nice but raw chilis are great because the vegetables are fresh along with strong flavours from the spices. Some vegetables are chopped, others riced, creating a melange of textures. Because I omitted the nuts, this was a delicious veg-heavy dip instead of a meal per se. Unless you eat the whole thing in one go, which is what I ended up doing.

Yes, that was the sad part. I spent all this time and energy making a delicious dip. And then I ate it all in one go. It just seemed too time consuming….. moral of the story: make a big batch. Double or triple this if you want it for a few meals. Or if you are not particular about keeping things completely raw, add some cooked beans (or sprouted beans, if you like them).

Want another quickie no cook chili? I liked this one as well.

This is my submission to this week’s Raw Food Thursdays.

Raw Chili Dip
Adapted from Matthew Kenney’s Raw Chili (original recipe here)

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (~12)
1 date, pitted
3/4 cup water
1 portobello mushroom cap, stemmed and cap finely chopped (80g)
1 cup finely chopped red pepper
1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
1 green onion, chopped (reserve some for garnish)
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp dried oregano (I used Mexican oregano)
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1. Bring water to a boil and soak sun-dried tomatoes and date until soft, at least 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, chop mushroom, and red pepper finely and place in a bowl. Chop tomato and slice green onions and add to bowl.

3. In your high speed blender, place coarsely chopped carrot and blend on low-medium speed until finely chopped. It can be a chunky puree. Remove and add to bowl. (I wonder if you could also do this with the mushroom and red pepper, but I did not experiment)

4. Place soaked sun-dried tomatoes and date plus its soaking water in the high speed blender. Add garlic, oregano, cumin, chili powder and apple cider vinegar. Blend until smooth. Thin with additional water if desired. Add salt to taste.

5. Mix sauce with vegetables. Garnish with green onions.

Serve as a dip with corn chips, tortillas, on top of a salad, or inside lettuce wraps.

Makes 1.5 cups. (Please double or triple if you want to eat it as a meal)