Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Chili from leftovers

carnitas-chili

Leftovers is not something that excite me, in general. I usually get tired of eating a dish and never want the leftovers on the next day. However... if you turn those leftovers into a totally new dish, that's usually ok. And sometimes, it's just brilliant.

Naturally, if you have something as tasty as leftover pulled pork or carnitas, there's not really a problem. You could make just about anything with that. But I don't know why it hadn't occurred to me before that you can make a nice chili soup/stew?

It's so delicious, and so versatile. Feel free to add in more vegetables - carrots, potatoes, anything goes! (Just adjust the cooking time accordingly.) More chili? Sure! The spice level really depends on how spicy your leftovers is to start with, so adjust accordingly.

I used green roasted chilies since I recieved a tin of that in my latest Blogging By Mail exchange, and that was lovely. I can't find it here, so next time, I'll use fresh ones, I suppose.

Chili from leftovers
serves 4-6

500 g leftover carnitas, pulled pork or similar shredded and seasoned meat
1 large yellow onion
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
1/2 tbsp neutral oil
500 g crushed tomatoes (tinned)
400 g kidney beans (tinned)
125 green roasted chili (a small tin) - substitute with fresh green chilis
4-500 ml water
1 tsp brown sugar
salt, to taste

Heat the oil in a large pot and fry onion and garlic for a few minutes. Add in all other ingredients and let it cook for about 30 minutes. Season with salt and other spices as needed.

Serve with sour cream, grated cheese and fresh coriander.

Recipe in Swedish:
Chili på rester

2 comments:

Fantail Lifestyle said...

Delish! Can't wait to try this one out! :D

http://flyfantail.blogspot.com/2011/09/mighty-asparagus.html

Leftover said...

I also love already-cooked store bought roteisserie chicken for less than $10 that will feed the whole fam.