Impromptu Peruvian bean chili

I posted this photo on Instagram of a Peruvian bean chili I made recently. My friend Anne asked me for the recipe, and here we are. Except I don’t really have a recipe. I basically winged it (wung it?), but I’m happy to tell you a story about that and maybe you’ll be able to deduce a recipe from there.

The thing is Phillip had a guys’ movie night planned, and the other guys were talking about getting pizza. I panicked, forgot there is such a thing as gluten-free pizza (we’re total newbs at this gluten free thing), glanced around my kitchen, and decided I could throw together chili. Even though I started early, I probably didn’t spend more than 10 minutes actually pulling it together.

Here’s what went in there:

• Peruvian/Peruano beans, enough to mostly fill the crockpot after soaking. (I get these in bulk from Food City, but I’m sure they’re available at other groceries with Latin American food items.)
• Tomato paste, maybe 3 TBS
• 1 can diced tomatoes (If you’re substituting fresh ones, you may want to wait to add them, so they don’t get weird hanging out in the crockpot all day.)
• Rosemary
• Cumin
• Lots of salt (I never seem to salt beans enough)
• Black pepper
• A little oregano
• Garlic powder (Fresh garlic is a good idea too. Maybe better if you’re in slightly less of a rush.)
• 1 red pepper
• Sriracha, as much as you can stand

Soak the beans overnight, then throw it all in the crockpot the next day. If it happens to be sriracha week, make the sriracha and red pepper into a smiley face and Instagram it. Cook 4-5 hours on high or 8ish on low. You may want to make the chili a day ahead, refrigerate, and let the flavors blend. It will be even more delicious the following day.

Also, if you’re not particularly attached to the vegetarianness of the recipe, some bacon probably would be a delicious addition.

Happy belated sriracha week to you all!