A Working Woman's Chili

An hour-from-start-to-bowl chili with two clever flavor moves that lift it above the usual ground-beef-and-beans rotation: chopped black olives for briny depth and a homemade oregano vinegar (fresh oregano steeped in white vinegar for at least ten days) for a bright herbal acid hit. Both are easy to overlook on the ingredient list and both are what make this chili memorable.

The heat comes from a chipotle chili in adobo plus a tablespoon of its sauce, scooped from the can. This is way better than dry chili powder alone for adding smoke and depth in a fast-cook chili. Adobo-soaked chipotles give you the long-simmered flavor of a smoked chili in a 40-minute cook.

The oregano vinegar is the real signature. If you don’t have ten days to make it, fresh oregano stirred into the pot at the end with a splash of white vinegar gets you most of the way there. Either way, the herb-and-acid combo is the secret.

Pro Tips

• Drain the ground round thoroughly; lean meat doesn’t release much fat but every bit matters in a fast chili.
• Saute the vegetables in stages so each cooks properly; dump them all in at once and they steam.
• Adjust water at the end to your preferred thickness; too thin can be reduced, too thick can be loosened.
• Keep a jar of oregano vinegar going in the fridge year-round for quick chili nights.

Variations

• Use canned black beans or pinto beans in place of kidney beans.
• Add 1 cup frozen corn kernels in the last 10 minutes for sweetness.
• Top with diced avocado, sour cream, and chopped cilantro.