You won’t miss meat in this Cincinnati-style chili recipe

As I began the process of clearing out my mother’s home after she died earlier this year, I discovered a treasure trove of old cookbooks dating back to the 1940s. One from the early ‘80s caught my eye. “Food Editors’ Hometown Favorites Cookbook” is a compilation of recipes from newspaper food editors across the country, each highlighting their city’s regional and local specialties.

I was delighted to discover two recipes from former Cincinnati Post food editor Joyce Rosencrans, and while this vegetarian won’t be making the goetta recipe anytime soon, I decided to try my hand at making a vegetarian/vegan version of our beloved Cincinnati-style chili.

The first few times I made it, I swapped lentils in place of the ground beef that Rosencrans’ recipe called for, and it was delicious. While the lentils provided a different mouth feel, the spice base is pure Cincinnati-style chili parlor. Later, when I picked up some Impossible Burger (plant-based meat substitute) on sale at the grocery, I decided to give it a whirl. Wow. What a gamechanger!Imighthaveactuallyweptalittle after that first bite because it was so reminiscent of the chili parlor versions I ate as a carnivorous teenager. My nonveg husband declared it his “favorite dish ever” and admitted that he wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a meat-based chili parlor version and the Impossible version.

Want to give it a try yourself? Here’s the vegan-adapted version of Rosencrans’ Cincinnati Chili recipe. I’ve included instructions for my lentil version at the end of the recipe.

Vegan Cincinnati-style Chili

2 pounds ground Impossible Burger

2 medium onions, finely diced

1 quart water

1 (14-16 oz.) can diced tomatoes

1 1 2 tsp. cider vinegar

1 tsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce (I use Annie’s)

Instructions:

1 Combine Impossible Burger, onions and water in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Simmer until burger turns brown.

2 Add tomatoes with juice, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and spice ingredients. Stir to combine.

3 Cover and simmer for three hours.

4 To serve “basic three-way chili,” ladle chili over cooked spaghetti and top with vegan cheese.

Makes 6 servings.

Lentil version: Step 1: heat water to boiling and add 4 tsp. McKay’s chickenstyle seasoning (or other vegan bouillon of choice).Stiruntildissolved.Addonionsand 2 cups dried brown or green lentils instead of Impossible Burger. Return to boil, then reduce heat and let simmer 15-20 minutes. Step 2: No changes. Step 3: Simmer 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.