It may still feel like summer in Southern California, but that couldn’t stop me from celebrating the fall season with a batch of chili the other day (I’m also that person who’s already listening to Christmas music, because I can).
Depending on where you’re from, the word “chili” can conjure up a variety of images, from a thick, meaty Texas-style “bowl of red” to a pork-based New Mexican “bowl of green,” with other ingredients, from beans to tomatoes — even spaghetti noodles — added depending on where you find yourself in the country.
What I love most about chili is it’s a wonderfully simple, no-fuss dish. Neither soup nor stew, chili is in a category all its own. And like most comfort foods, chili’s flavors only improve with time, almost like a fine wine. And it takes well to improvisation.
This chili is a recipe I originally came up with when I explored the history and various traditions of this famous dish for a Los Angeles Times story years ago. The ingredients draw from North African inspiration, using Merguez sausage and harissa, a North African chili paste. The flavors are rounded out with fresh ginger and lemon, cinnamon and turmeric. And unlike some traditional recipes that call for cooking tough cuts of meat for hours on end, this recipe comes together in a little over an hour. Fix a bowl and top it with fresh cilantro and feta cheese, along with an extra dab of harissa if you like it spicy. The flavors are bright and fresh, balanced with subtle but intense heat. And they only improve with time.
LENTIL CHILI WITH MERGUEZ SAUSAGE
1 hour, 20 minutes. Serves 8 to 16
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
Zest of 2 lemons and juice of 1 lemon, divided
2 (3-inch) sticks cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
2 pounds fresh merguez sausage, casings removed and crumbled
10 cups chicken broth, divided, plus more as needed
Salt
2 pounds dried lentils
Pinch saffron, optional
2 tablespoons harissa paste, or to taste, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
Chopped cilantro, for garnish
Feta cheese, crumbled, for garnish
In a 6-quart, heavy-bottom sauce pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the ginger, garlic and lemon zest and continue to cook until aromatic, about 2 minutes.
Stir in the cinnamon, cumin, paprika, turmeric and cardamom and cook, stirring constantly to gently toast the spices, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and continue to stir until it darkens slightly, coats the onion and leaves a thin film on the bottom of the pan, about 1 minute, being careful not to scorch the bottom of the pan.
Stir in the lemon juice and diced tomatoes, scraping the bottom of the pot with a spatula or wooden spoon to lift the tomato paste. Stir in the crumbled sausage.
Add 8 cups chicken broth and stir in 1 teaspoon salt. Stir in the lentils, saffron, if using, and harissa. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.
Cook the chili, uncovered, until the lentils are tender but firm, about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding chicken broth as needed, 1 cup at a time, to keep the lentils barely submerged at all times. The amount of liquid will vary depending on the lentils, though no more than 2 additional cups should be necessary.
Stir in the minced parsley and taste the chili, adjusting the seasoning and heat as desired with additional salt and harissa. Continue to cook until the lentils are very tender, stirring occasionally, another 15 minutes or so. The lentils will absorb more liquid and the chili will thicken; make sure to stir the bottom of the pot to watch and prevent the chili from burning at the bottom, and adjust the thickness as desired with additional broth. Check the seasoning once more, adding additional harissa, salt or lemon juice as desired.
Serve the chili with chopped cilantro, crumbled feta cheese and additional harissa. The chili will keep for up to 5 days, covered and refrigerated.
Note: From Noelle Carter. Adapted from a recipe I first developed while at the Los Angeles Times. You can find merguez sausage at a number of gourmet or specialty food shops, as well as online. I also wrote a story on homemade sausages, and include a recipe for it here if you’re looking for a project. Or you could substitute mild or spicy Italian sausage, keeping in mind that this will affect the flavor of the dish.