A new favorite: unleashing the umami

It's hard to come up with meals that work for everyone in our family, which includes two vegetarians and a gluten-free eater. I thought a vegetarian chili might be good, but I went through all our recipes and there was nothing suitable (e.g., a black bean chili with beef and a vegetarian chili with bulgur wheat). So I searched the Internet and found a "black bean and espresso chili" that looked fairly promising. But I could tell it wouldn't work for us as written so I broke my own rule and made a bunch of changes to the recipe the first time I made it. (Sorry, Jacques.) But it worked out fine and everyone liked it, especially Mom, who declared it "exceptional." Still, I thought it was somewhat bitter despite cutting back even more on the espresso powder relative to some of the other ingredients. Plus, your Mom didn't sleep well that night. The caffeine maybe?

I thought about how to get more flavor into the chili without using the espresso powder. Then the light bulb went on and I decided to try unleashing a tsunami of umami (Brad's line). A lot has been written about umami in the past decade or so, but here's my primer for you. Umami has been recognized as the fifth taste—in addition to sweet, sour, salty, and bitter—especially after scientists discovered a specific receptor for umami in human taste buds in 2000. The taste is usually described as savory or meaty, which makes sense given that meat is loaded with umami flavor—perfect for amping up a meatless chili or vegetarian gravy.

If you want to add umami flavor to a dish, the key thing to know is that pairing ingredients high in glutamates with ingredients high in certain nucleotides significantly increases the sensation of umami beyond what you'd get using just one or the other. In essence, you need to pick at least one ingredient from the glutamate list and one from the nucleotide list and use them both in your dish to get the most bang for your umami buck. Here are some of the more common things you can keep in your pantry or fridge to choose from:

Glutamates
Anchovies/sardines
Dried mushrooms (shiitake or porcini, but shiitakes have meatier flavor and cost half as much)
Sun-dried tomatoes
Tomato paste
Parmesan cheese
Soy sauce, including tamari
Fish sauce
Miso

Nucleotides
Anchovies/sardines
Dried mushrooms (shiitake or porcini)

That explains why anchovies show up in so many dishes, including Broccoli Pasta.

If you want to read more, I'm linking three articles here (and there are plenty more out there on this subject). The first is more scientific and includes a much more exhaustive list of foods containing natural umami, with specific numbers. The second is from Cook's Illustrated and gives you just the basics. The third is from Cook's Country and takes a closer look at 12 "umami powerhouses," with some tips for how to use them.

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Applying this information to the second iteration of this chili, I omitted the espresso powder and instead used dried shiitake mushrooms, which I ground to a powder first, and tamari, which is a gluten-free soy sauce made from all soybeans. It was less bitter but still needed some more umami kick. So I made it a third time after Dylan came home for the holidays (he was appalled that we'd had chili and cornbread without him—like we're supposed to wait for him to eat good food). This time, I also added tomato paste and anchovy paste to the mix, and that did the trick. You can't taste any of the additional ingredients individually, but they really add a savory flavor to the chili. All five of us liked it a lot, which means we have a new favorite to add to our rotation. More importantly, it's one that everyone can eat, which makes for a happy cook.

Black Bean Umami Chili

Adapted from Bon Appétit

Time: 1:20

Toppings for this chili suggested by the original recipe include Avocado Crema, sour cream, chopped fresh cilantro, sliced scallions, grated cheese, sliced jalapeños, and shaved bittersweet chocolate. I liked it served over crumbled Cornbread and topped with grated cheddar cheese (which is another good source of glutamates). For a change of pace from regular cornbread, try it with Cornbread Croutons. I also tried it topped with some bittersweet chocolate grated on a Microplane, but I wasn't crazy about it; your Mom liked it that way though. If you’re squeamish about using the liquid in canned beans (which you shouldn’t be), you can drain and rinse the beans and add ½ cup (118 grams) water to the pot in step 3 along with the beans.

10 grams dried mushrooms, preferably shiitake but porcini are okay

1 tablespoon (7 grams) chili powder (such as McCormick)

1½ teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1 tablespoon (15 grams) tomato paste

a pinch of chipotle or ancho chile powder or smoked paprika

1½ teaspoons (9 grams) anchovy paste, optional

3 tablespoons (40 grams) neutral-tasting oil (such as sunflower)

1 large onion, chopped

1 large bell pepper, chopped, optional

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes 

1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes (regular or fire-roasted), with their juice

1 tablespoon (20 grams) honey

2 (15-ounce) cans black beans or 1 (15-ounce) can each of black beans and pinto beans, with their liquid (see note)

1 (15-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained and rinsed or 250 grams frozen corn, optional

a pinch of cinnamon

2 teaspoons (12 grams) tamari or soy sauce

salt, if needed

    1. Grind the dried mushrooms to a fine powder in a spice grinder (a coffee grinder used only for grinding spices), 15 to 30 seconds. Don't take the top off the spice grinder too quickly or you'll find yourself in a mushroom cloud. You can also use a mortar and pestle. Measure out 1 tablespoon (more or less to taste) of the mushroom powder into a small bowl (save the rest for another time). Add to the bowl the chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic, tomato paste, chipotle or ancho powder, and anchovy paste, if using; set aside.

    2. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large heavy pot. If you have an enameled cast iron pot, now is the time to use it. Stir in the onion and bell pepper (if using). Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent, about 7 or 8 minutes. Add the mushroom powder-spice mix to the pot and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in the crushed and diced tomatoes and honey. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and simmer for about 30 minutes. 

    3. Stir in the beans with their liquid, corn (if using), and cinnamon. Set the heat to maintain a slow but steady simmer. Cook, uncovered, until the chili thickens some, stirring occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes. About 5 minutes before you think the chili will be ready, stir in the tamari or soy sauce. Taste and adjust for salt before serving. See the headnote for some suggested toppings. Serves 4 to 6.