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Through my own personal elimination diet I discovered an allergy to tomatoes. Since I absolutely love many tomato based dishes this was heartbreaking to me! I was so worried I’d have to completely give up so many of my favorite chili recipes. So I decided to make a few of my own, tomato free chilis including this earthy red wine chili. Unfortunately, you can’t have chili without chili so these aren’t completely nightshade free.

This chili uses a red wine reduction to bring a deep acidity to the dish. It also uses my favorite chili secret ingredient. Unsweetened cocoa powder. The cocoa powder brings an earthy bitterness to the dish and pairs perfectly with the red wine. You’ll be amazed at how such a simple tweak to your dishes can bring out the full potential of all the other flavors.

If you want to make the recipe gluten or wheat free you can use corn starch or arrowroot powder in place of the flour. Just follow the instructions on the packaging for how to thicken. Typically, you’ll use a small amount of the starch to a ratio of cold water, whisk and then slowly add to the broth over heat. Whisk until incorporated and thickened. I simply prefer flour because I find it works the best and I’m lucky enough to be able to tolerate it well. There are always substitutions though!

For another way to eat tomato free chili try out this Green Chili and Sweet Potato Stew!

How to pick a wine to cook with

This earthy red wine chili uses a dark red wine to pair with the beef and seasonings. I try to find one that’s not too sweet but that you’d still want to drink. You’ll have leftover wine and you’ll want to drink the rest rather than just throw it out!

Typically, the best way to find the right wine to cook with is to look at the flavor profile on the bottle and match it to the ingredients in the recipe. For instance, this elimination diet recipe uses cocoa so you’ll want to look for a red wine that has hints of chocolate or a similar complimentary flavor like coffee.

The biggest rule to follow though is to stick to the right color. If a recipe says red, please do not use white just because that’s what you have around the house! Different wines pair very differently with different proteins and there are a couple of simple rules to stick by. Red goes best with beef and other red meats. White goes much better with poultry and pork. Also, just think of how odd chicken would look in red wine, it’d be pink!

Overall, you don’t need to break the bank, just find a decent, affordable bottle and see how it goes!

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
1 yellow onion chopped
1 large stalk celery, diced small
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 can black beans drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans drained and rinsed
1 jalapeno
3 tbsp chili powder
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
3 tsp salt, or to taste
½ tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ cup dark red wine (not too sweet)
2 cups beef broth
1 tbsp all purpose flour
olive oil

Instructions

brown the ground beef in cast iron skillet
in a soup pot heat olive oil
saute the veggies until onions are transparent
remove beef from skillet, leave in the fat
add red wine to the beef fat and simmer until reduced by half
add seasonings to the wine and mix well
gently whisk flour into the wine mix slowly until a thick paste is formed, you may need more or less flour
whisk in warm beef broth into the wine mix until paste is dissolved
pour the broth and wine gravy into the soup pot with the sauteed veggies
add the browned ground beef and beans to the pot
bring to a boil
remove from heat, you can serve it now but it’s best to let it sit for at least an hour, preferably overnight in the fridge, before reheating and serving.