Solar Oven Vegetarian Chili

With Hurricane Matthew threatening much of the US last week, we challenged ourselves to come up with a recipe that can be made with just pantry items. In times of a disaster or emergency, you may have to feed your family with just what you have on hand. This recipe cooked all day and made a high protein, flavorful dinner that everyone enjoyed.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jar of roasted red bell peppers, chopped
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup dried lentils
• 1 15 oz can black or pinto beans
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Place all ingredients in your graniteware pot and stir well. Place the covered pot in the preheated Solavore Sport. Let the chili cook all day, do not use reflectors if you have a lot of sun. Slow cooking temperatures between 200 and 250 degrees  are ideal for this recipe. Ours cooked from 10:30 to about 5:00.

Serve chili with your favorite toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado, green onion, cilantro.

Serves 6-8

Lentil Soup

Made with the recipe on the Bob's Red Mill lentil package, we simply reduced the liquid by 25 percent. Set it out in the Solavore Sport for a couple hours and voila!

Ingredients

2T olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
1 t salt
2 1/2 cup lentils
15 oz canned diced tomatoes
6 cups vegetable broth
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t ground coriander
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t ground cardamom

Directions

Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery and salt. Let cook until soft, about 5 minutes. As always, if you wish to do this step in the solar oven, just add the first five ingredients in your graniteware pot and let cook in the preheated Solavore Sport for approximately 30 minutes.

Sort and rinse lentils, then add the onion mixture, lentils, tomatoes, broth and spices to the graniteware pot. Cover and place in the Sport to cook. The soup will be done in approximately 2-3 hours depending on conditions. To test for doneness, make sure your lentils are tender.

Tomato Basil Bisque

This is a really delicious summer soup recipe that uses fresh tomato and fresh basil, perfect for when  you are harvesting your summer garden. As written, it's a solar hybrid recipe, meaning you start it out on the conventional stove top, then let it simmer away in the solar oven. 

Ingredients

2 lbs fresh tomatoes quartered
1 small can tomato paste
8 1/2 cups tomato stock
2 yellow onions chopped
8-10 garlic bulbs, minced
1 bunch basil, julienned
1 zucchini
2T olive oil
1/4 cup red wine
1-2 t brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

On your conventional stove, heat up olive oil in a large soup pot and saute chopped onions until translucent. Add garlic and chopped zucchini. Fry tomato paste with onions and deglaze with red wine.

Add tomatoes and season with salt and pepper and a pinch of brown sugar. Add vegetable stock and stir. Divide soup between your two Graniteware pots, cover and place in the Solavore Sport for 2 to 4 hours. The timing on this soup is not vital, you just want to give it time to simmer and let the flavors develop.

Once the soup comes out of the oven, puree with an immersion hand blender. Add another pinch of brown sugar and add salt and pepper to taste. Finish by stirring in the julienned basil.

Tortilla Soup with Hominy

The flavors in this soup's spice mixture really benefit from a long afternoon simmer in the sun! This is a not-so-traditional tortilla soup recipe; hominy and black beans have been added for extra heartiness. Shredded cooked chicken is an optional add-in as well. 

Ingredients

1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t olive oil
1 t paprika
1 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t Mexican oregano
1/2 t chipotle powder
1 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 15-ounce can hominy, drained
1 15 ounce can black beans, drained
2 cups vegetable broth

For serving:
4 corn tortillas (or you can use tortilla chips)

Optional for serving:
diced avocado
crumbled queso fresco
sliced radishes

Directions

On the stovetop, saute onions and garlic in olive oil until the onions become translucent. Add paprika, cumin, chili powder, oregano and chipotle powder to the pan. Stir well and continue cooking for a few minutes. Please note that this step can be done in the solar oven rather than the stovetop by placing onions, garlic and olive oil in your graniteware pot. Cover and cook in the solar oven for 20-30 minutes.

Now place cooked onion mixture and remaining ingredients (through broth) in your graniteware pot. Give it a stir, cover, and place in your preheated Solavore Sport. Let the soup simmer in the sun for approximately 3-4 hours. Low temperature is fine for this one, no reflectors needed if you've got lots of sunshine.

Bake or toast your tortillas until they are crispy, then slice in to strips (or use prepared tortilla chips).

Serve the soup in bowls and top with tortillas, avocado, cheese, radish or whatever is to your liking.

Serves 4

Minestrone Soup

This healthy and delicious soup requires a long day of slow cooking, so be sure to get it started early (especially in the winter!).

Ingredients

• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
• 2 cups water
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 cup diced celery (3 stalks)
• 1 cup diced carrots (2 carrots)
• 1 cup diced yellow onion (1 small) 
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/3 cups diced zucchini (1 small)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 1/2 cups frozen green beans
• 1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans or garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or 2 tsp dried)
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 3/4 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 cups cooked pasta or cooked barley
• Finely shredded romano or parmesan cheese, for serving 
• More fresh parsley for serving

Instructions

• On the stovetop, saute onions, carrots, celery and garlic in a tablespoon of oil for 5-8 minutes. This step is not necessary, but really ensures that the vegetables are cooked through.
• Add the onion mixture along with vegetable stock, water, tomatoes, beans, green beans, peas, parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves and sugar to your Sport cooking pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook in the Solavore Sport 6 - 8 hours. The soup is done when the vegetables are tender.
• Add cooked pasta or barley to the hot soup. Stir in more vegetable broth or water to thin if desired. You may want to add more salt and pepper at this point. Serve warm topped with fresh grated cheese.

Solavore Smokin' Chili

Ingredients 

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/2 pounds ground chuck beef, ground for chili
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large white onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 habanero chile, seeded and very finely chopped
1/4 cup chile powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chipotle pepper
4 (14.5-ounce) diced fire-roasted tomatoes, coarsely chopped with their juices
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for serving
1 (12-ounce) bottle amber beer
2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed  
Tortilla chips, for serving
Shredded cheddar cheese, for serving
Chopped tomatoes, for serving
Sour cream, for serving
Lime wedges, for serving 

Directions 

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches if necessary, add beef and cook until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; drain in a colander, discarding fat, and set aside. 

2. Add remaining tablespoon olive oil to skillet and reduce heat to medium. Add onions, garlic, and habanero; season with salt. Cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. 

3. Combine beef, onion mixture, chile powder, oregano, cumin, and chipotle pepper; stir to combine. Add tomatoes, cilantro, and beer.  Divide evenly between two Solavore Sport Granite Ware pots.  Cover, set in sun and cook for 5 hours.  You may wish to use reflectors if you are getting a late start (noon or later) or there are passing clouds.  (Chili may be frozen at this point and re-heated at a later date.  Thaw completely before proceeding to next step.)

4. Add kidney beans and season with salt and pepper.   Continue cooking for an additional hour or until beans are heated through.   Garnish with cilantro and serve with desired toppings.

Caribbean Pumpkin Soup (Sopa de Calabasa)

This soup is evocative of the Caribbean – colorful pumpkin, spicy ginger, and an unexpected twist: coconut milk.

 [Note:  Calabasa is known as pumpkin in the Caribbean but is really more of a squash. Deep yellow-orange flesh with a speckled dark green skin.   Any pumpkin or squash can be used.  May be prepared a day ahead and refrigerated – even better!]  

Directions: Peel 2 ½  lb. pumpkin.  Scrape out the seeds, cut in chunks.  Place in Sport roasting pot.  Do not add water.

In the second roasting pot, place 2 chopped carrots, 1 stalk celery chopped, 1 lg. chopped onion, 1 chopped green pepper, 1-2 T. grated fresh ginger, and a good pinch of crushed red pepper.  (For the green pepper use the mild “Pimiento de Cocina”, long slender light green, if available).

Place both pots in the solar oven and cook for 1 ½ to 3 hours or until tender.

Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to blend.

In small batches, blend pumpkin along with liquid generated in the cooking, carrot/onion mixture, and 1 c. chopped tomatoes, canned or fresh.  Blend until smooth.  

Combine all in a large pot.  If you prefer your soup thinner you can add vegetable broth at this point, up to 1 c. (but keep in mind you will be adding coconut milk before serving, and the soup should be relatively thick and hearty.) 

Add ½ t. thyme (more if fresh), salt and pepper to taste.  

Before serving, stir in 1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk.  Heat to serve.

Garnish with fresh parsley or fresh thyme.  Great served with cheese sticks, bread sticks or seasoned toast.

This recipe is vegan/vegetarian – if made according to the above instructions. Carnivores may wish to stir in crumbled bacon after the blending stage.