We’re experiencing a whole weekend of extreme cold weather alert in Toronto. I can’t think of a better way to beat the chill than a hot bowl of spicy chili. Besides, for football fans, Super Bowl is coming up and chili is probably on the menu of most parties. Chili is one of those dishes that inspires heated debates on authenticity and regional variations. At times, it can even be a little intimidating (there’s nothing worse than serving a dish only to be tsk tsk into a lecture of the way it should be done). What if you’re a vegetarian Texan? Do you call your chili spicy bean or vegetable stew to avoid awkward social situations? Ah, things that keep me awake at night.
When I came across The Food Lab’s article on How To Make The Best Chili Ever, my first thought was I can never pull that off! Such an involved process! However, a year later, I revisit the article and come away with an entirely different appreciation, all because of the last paragraph:
This may all seem long and tedious to do in one shot, and I admit: even I sometimes prefer doing things the short, easy, and less flavourful way, but the beauty of multi-step recipes is that even if you only change one thing in your routine—adding chocolate and coffee to your mix, grinding spices after toasting instead of before—the end results should be better, and isn't better food what it's all about?
Indeed it is! There were so many great tips introduced in that recipe from the author’s meticulous research. Even just taking a cue here and there would be tremendously helpful in shaping Candy’s Best Chili.
I received a pretty awesome selection of produce in this week’s CSA share from Kawartha Ecological Growers including shelling beans, sweet potatoes, and onions. Coincidentally, I recently came across a recipe for sweet potato black bean chili. That name alone is already enough inspiration for me create my own version. I love the smoky flavour of chipotle (which was jalapeno when fresh). It amuses me that the heat of my recipe comes from a combination of fresh jalapeno, canned chipotle in adobo sauce, and ground chipotle powder. That’s jalapeno in three different guises! The best part though has got to be the sweet potatoes. Like any good starchy root vegetable, it absorbs the very flavourful cooking liquid. At the same time, contributing a bit of sweetness to the stew. Between the beans and sweet potatoes, the broth is thick and hearty without any additional thickening. I love it that the stew has a depth of flavour atypical of (almost!) vegan chili due to the combination of tomato paste, marmite, chocolate, coffee, and the optional anchovies.
I offer a long list of garnish suggestions. Part of the fun of eating chili is to top it with all kinds of toppings for additional taste and textural contrast. Creamy sour cream cuts the spiciness obviously but I do love the freshness from cilantro and lime juice. Squares of cornbread would not be out of place but if you’re watchful about your carbs intake, warm corn tortilla is a wonderful alternative. At least I know that’s what I’ll be eating with my bowl!
Obviously chili is a great dish to make ahead so I’m sending little brother home with a couple containers. I don’t want him to miss out on the complete experience so I neatly packed up a bento of toppings. The monochromatic colour palette is a feast for the eyes.
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Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili
serves 8
nutritional analysis available here
Ingredients
- 375g dried black beans, picked and rinsed
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 anchovy filets (optional)
- 1/2 tsp marmite
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large or 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
- 1 stalk of celery, chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro stems, chopped
- 1 large sweet green pepper, chopped
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 to 2 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground chipotle pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 28oz can of unsalted diced tomato
- 2 cups vegetable stock or water
- 20g unsweetened chocolate
- 2 tsp ground coffee
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
- 800g sweet potato, peeled and cut to 1” dice
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
- juice from half a lime
For garnish
- cilantro
- wedges of lime
- sour cream
- diced avocado
- chopped red onion
- grated Monterey jack cheese
Method
- Soak the black beans at least 6 hours prior to cooking with enough water to cover the beans. When you’re ready to cook, drain the beans and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mash together tomato paste, anchovies, and marmite until pasty. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a dutch oven (at least 5 quart) over medium high heat. Sauté onions until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add celery, cilantro stems, green pepper, and jalapeno to the pot and keep sauté until all the vegetable soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add the reserved tomato paste, chopped chipotle chile, cumin, coriander, ground chipotle pepper, and cloves to the vegetable. Cook until the spices start to smell really good, about 2 minutes.
- Add drained beans and tomato (with all the juice) to the pot. Add enough vegetable stock or water to cover by an inch (I used about 2 cups). Stir in chocolate, ground coffee, bay leaf, and oregano. Cover the pot with lid and bring to boil.
- Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook covered for about 45 minutes until the beans are not quite done and still a little hard.
- Add sweet potato to the pot. Keep cooking until they are tender, about another 45-60 minutes. The beans ought to be soft and creamy by this time.
- Add cilantro leaves and lime juice. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and perhaps additional spices according to taste.
- The chili is great as is but even better the next day after the flavours have some time to meld. Top each bowl of chili with choice of garnish and serve with warm corn tortillas.
