I’m keeping it short and sweet this week, as I’m sure the last few days have been quite eventful for many of you with Valentine’s Day and the Super Bowl.
* Scroll down to go straight to the recipes! *
I’m sharing two cozy recipes that are full of flavor and come together in just around an hour. The first is a pescatarian-friendly shrimp cacciatore for two. It’s hearty and rustic, with notes of tangy tomato, plump shrimp, and sweet red peppers. The second is a vegetarian skillet chili, bursting with spices, notes of smoky chipotle, vegetables, and plenty of pinto beans. It’s an easy, one-pot, cast-iron skillet meal.
Weeknight Dinner: Shrimp Cacciatore
I’m mostly pescatarian these days, so I wanted to develop a seafood version of cacciatore. The result is a shrimp cacciatore (or cacciatore “style” shrimp) with a robust sauce made from onion, garlic, tomatoes, white wine, and an array of vegetables. I opt for mushrooms, that I crisp up for added umami, and red bell pepper. It’s the perfect portion for two, though you could easily make it for one and enjoy leftovers the next day!
Rosemary and parsley provide earthiness and brightness to balance out the acidity and sweetness of the sauce. It’s easy, rustic, and so comforting.
Grab the full recipe, plus all of my tips, tricks, and answers to your questions below ↓
Weekend Project: Vegetarian Skillet Chili
I always look forward to making chili during the colder months of the year. It’s warm, full of flavor, and infinitely customizable. But, to be totally honest, my favorite part of eating chili is loading it up with toppings like sour cream, tortilla chips, cheese, and cilantro.
What makes this chili recipe special?
Using a cast-iron skillet: Cooking this chili in a cast-iron skillet allows for better heat retention and faster evaporation, meaning increased depth of flavor in less time.
Smokiness from chipotle chilies and fire-roasted tomatoes: I’m obsessed with chipotle chilies — they add so much flavor! And fire-roasted tomatoes offer tanginess and savory notes without being too acidic.
Deeply savory: The combination of spices, vegetables, beans, and miso paste adds a deep savory flavor sure to please vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike!
Tips and Tricks
Making chili is all about properly balancing the combination of salty, sweet, acidic, spicy, and savory flavors. Here are some of my favorite tips:
What to do if your chili tastes too acidic…
Typically, canned tomatoes are the culprit here. This can happen if your tomatoes are more acidic or the chili hasn’t simmered long enough.
If you’ve simmered the chili for at least 30 minutes and it still tastes quite acidic, there are a few fixes.
Add more spices: If you can barely taste the spices (maybe your spices are old, for example), spices like garlic powder, ground coriander, and ground cumin can help cut the acidity.
Add a pinch of cocoa powder: Unsweetened cocoa powder is a common ingredient added to chili. It sounds surprising, but it adds more depth and rounds out the flavors of the chili.
Add a pinch of baking soda: I made a shrimp stew last year, and the tomato flavor was just too acidic. I read a tip online about using baking soda, so I added a pinch (less than 1/4 of a teaspoon) of baking soda, and it completely transformed the flavor!
What to do if your chili tastes bitter…
Chili can taste bitter for any number of reasons — for example, your spices could be stale, or maybe you added too much of one spice. Here are some tips to fix this:
Add salt: Make sure the chili is well-seasoned. Salt can help round out the dish.
Add sugar: Add a little bit of brown sugar to help balance the bitterness.
Add acid: Try adding some vinegar, lemon juice, or more tomato.
Grab the full recipe, plus all of my tips, tricks, and answers to your questions below ↓
That’s all for this week!
-Karishma