​We ​♥ this dish. It's even better on the second day when all its many flavours have intermingled even more and the beans are mooshier.

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Serves 4-6

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Ingredients

​The Beans

2 cans organic kidney beans or

2 cups dried, washed kidney beans. Wash the beans carefully

2 teaspoons sea salt

If you use dried beans, either:

1. soak them overnight in 3-4 times the volume of water to the volume of beans (throw away any that float)

or

2. If you forgot to soak them because you were drinking wine all night in celebration of your harvest, boil the dried beans in a big pot full of water for 2 minutes. Remove them from the heat. Cover the pot with a tight lid & let the beans soak for at least 1 hour.

3. Either way, you'll have to add salt & cook your kidney beans for at least another hour, or until they're tender, before you add them to the rest of the ingredients and have chili.

4. At this point, if you're saying "Whaaaa.....", just use canned kidney beans, organic if possible.

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​The Rest (Say, this is a lot like lasagna... but no noodles.)

4-6 garlic cloves, chopped fine.

1 medium sized Spanish onion, diced

2 large heirloom (or 1 giant Coeur de Boeuf) chopped up tomatoes

2 medium-sized peeled carrots. Slice them horizontally at a slight angle. You don't get pieces that are all core.

4-6 chard stems, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

Tablespoon sea salt

1 small zucchini or trombetta squash, in small cubes

6-10 mushrooms, sliced

2 teaspoons fresh chopped oregano

2 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme

2 small red chilies, without the seeds, chopped very fine. Be careful! Wash your hands with soap & water after you handle the chillies.

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​To Do

1. Wash all your veggies and then go chop, chop, chop, chop, chopping.

2. Splash a goodly portion of olive oil into your cooking pan of choice.​

3. Turn your burner/element up to medium-high.

4. Turf in your chopped onions & let them cook for a few minutes. You'll have to stir them from time to time, just so they don't burn.

5. Turn the heat down to medium & add the garlic and carrots, stirring the mixture from time to time, too.​

6. Add the mushrooms. (You may need to splash in a bit more olive oil at this point.

7. Pour in the chard stems, trombetta cubes and green pepper.

8. Turn up the heat a bit and stir.

9. Pour in the chopped tomatoes & chopped chillies.

10. Sprinkle in the salt & herbs.

11. Turn the heat down and let the mixture simmer for about 45 minutes.

12. Add the cooked kidney beans

13. Simmer for another 45 minutes or so, add some more seasonings if you like, and serve.

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