Robert Redford's Tomato Trick For Chili That Sings With Smoky Notes

The late, great Robert Redford was an icon of American cinema, from romantic dramas like "The Way We Were" and "The Natural" to paranoid dispatches from the heart of the 1970s like "All The President's Men" and "Three Days of the Condor." He founded the Sundance Institute along with the film festival of the same name, helping nurture countless independent filmmakers over the course of 40 years. He won the Best Director Oscar for his debut film "Ordinary People" (robbing Martin Scorsese and noted Bob's Big Boy enthusiast David Lynch in the process, but such is life). He was so unbelievably handsome that, when director Mike Nichols asked him if he ever "struck out with a girl," he could only react with polite confusion. And if all that wasn't enough, he also had a terrific recipe for chili which involved using a broiler to add extra flavor to the tomatoes.

The recipe was published in the "Newman's Own Cookbook," courtesy of Redford's longtime friend and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" co-star Paul Newman. Chili purists being what they are, there's a good chance that Redford's recipe will seriously tick off somebody — not only does it use lamb instead of beef (although beef and chicken are both suggested substitutes), it contains both tomatoes and black beans, neither of which are used in traditional Texas chili. Then again, Redford was born and raised in Southern California (although his mom was from Texas), so you shouldn't really expect "authenticity" from his recipe in the first place. What you can expect, however, is some seriously good tomato flavor.

When Robert Redford suggested you put your tomatoes under the broiler before using them in your chili, he was suggesting you make use of something called the Maillard reaction. By applying heat to your food, you create a chemical reaction that gives it those characteristic brown or black marks and adds a greater depth of flavor. This is why meat, such as the lamb meat used for Redford's chili, will often taste better when browned.

When it comes to blackening tomatoes, using a broiler is probably the easiest and least scary option for the average home cook. But if you're feeling daring, you can always use other methods — putting them on the grill, for instance, or even applying them directly to the burner on your stove. (Just make sure your kitchen is well-ventilated, because it will produce enough smoke to make you feel like you just started the next Chicago Fire.) Once that's out of the way, though, the cooking process is a straightforward, one-pan type deal, perfect for spooning into your mouth while watching "Quiz Show" or "The Legend of Bagger Vance" (two straightforward, B+ films directed by Redford).