I met Gunner Woundy a couple of months ago at a presentation by students of Kapiolani Community College’s Nutritional Cuisines class, taught by Lauren Tamamoto and part of the Advanced Professional Certificate program, the school’s third-year culinary program. Not only were students required to create dishes tailored for restricted diets (think heart disease or cancer), the foods needed to be conducive to selling from a food truck — meaning students had to consider practicality and cost, as well.

From a vegan lasagna (with the best tasting tofu “ricotta” cheese I’ve ever eaten) to a seared salmon to a light and fruity crepe, every dish was perfectly prepared and absolutely delicious. And for all the dietary restrictions the recipes were required to navigate, none compromised on taste.

Woundy’s roasted tomato chili was no exception. Its low-fat poultry proteins, high-fiber beans and absence of added sugar make it a diabetes- friendly dish. But it was the spot-on seasoning that captured my interest: a wonderful smokiness and just the right kick of spiciness that make for a lively, yet not overwhelming, heat.

It turns out Woundy’s recipe has a number of flavorful surprises in it, and none of them involve chili powder, that ubiquitous seasoning for the chili pot. Rather, his deep, smoky flavor base starts with roasted tomatoes, chipotle peppers and — get this — Thai red curry paste, for umami. Cumin and coriander round out the spices, while tomato paste and vegetable broth keep the taste concentrated.

While discussing ingredients, Woundy shared a lot of useful kitchen tips. Instead of calling for canned black beans, for instance, he recommended dried beans, simmered until cooked but still firm. Heat activates the starch in the bean, he explained, and as the chili cooks, it breaks down the bean and releases the starch. As the pot cools, the liquid thickens. So if your chili isn’t quite thick enough, Woundy suggests reheating and cooling the pot a second time to reactivate the starch. (See the list below for Woundy’s other tips.)

I cooked my beans in a pressure cooker for 15 minutes (no presoaking necessary) and let the pot sit off the heat for 20 minutes before releasing the pressure. The beans were a bit softer than I would have liked, but they held up well during a 40-minute simmer and did a good job of thickening the chili.

Woundy, 22, is slated to graduate in fall 2019 with a bachelor of applied science degree, with a concentration in culinary management, from the University of Hawaii-West Oahu.

He’s been cooking since age 5, thanks to Grandma, who started him off baking cheesecake and other desserts. By age 6, he was helping with Thanksgiving dinner. The degree, he hopes, will help him secure a good position in the culinary industry.

“You need to know the business side of culinary if you want to rise in the ranks,” he said. “You need to know accounting and how to price out a meal to become a chef. This dish, for example, costs about $2 a serving. I want to be a chef or manage a food business.”

ROASTED TOMATO CHILI

By Gunner Woundy

• 1-1/2 cups dried black beans (about 4 cups cooked)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more as needed
• 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
• 1 sliced chipotle pepper, canned or dried, or more to taste
• 1/2 onion, diced small
• 1 pound chicken, chopped into bite-size pieces
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 4 (14-ounce) cans or 1 (56-ounce) jar roasted tomatoes (or 1 dozen fresh roma tomatoes, if made from scratch)
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

Cook beans until fully cooked but firm. Drain and set aside.

In pot on medium, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil, then add curry paste and pepper and heat to bloom flavors and break down pepper. When fragrant, add onion and more oil as necessary. Cook 1 or 2 minutes, then add chicken and ground turkey; stir well to coat meat. Add cumin and coriander and stir well.

Add broth, beans, tomatoes and tomato paste; stir well. Raise heat to medium-high. When pot comes to a boil, lower heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, 30 to 40 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasonings, adding another chipotle pepper if necessary (slice pepper and reheat pot for a couple of minutes to activate pepper). Serves 10 to 12.

STAPLES FROM SCRATCH

If you’re out of tomato paste, have a bumper crop of tomatoes or some extra aromatic veggies in the fridge, try these quick, easy tips from culinary student Gunner Woundy:

>> Tomato paste: In a pan over medium heat, reduce a can of tomato sauce, stirring constantly to prevent burning, and voila — tomato paste!

>> Roasted tomatoes: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Clean and slice tomatoes and toss with olive oil, minced garlic or garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet and roast about 30 minutes, tossing once or twice.

>> Vegetable broth: In pot, add roughly chopped aromatics such as carrots, celery and onions, plus dried shiitake and black peppercorns if you have them, and a couple of bay leaves. Cover generously with water and boil 20 minutes. Strain.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (based on 10 servings and 1 tablespoon olive oil): 320 calories, 9 g fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 75 mg cholesterol, 800 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 10 g fiber, 10 g sugar, 29 g protein.

Is there a cooking technique you’d like explained? Email Joleen Oshiro at joshiro@staradvertiser.com. Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.