Hot Potato, Hot Potato...

We're a little obsessed with sweet potatoes right now.  And why not? They're sweet, delicious and so full of nutrients; they really do put regular spuds to shame.  That said, this isn't a sweet potato post. It's a chili post.  It just so happens that this chili happens to be topping a sweet potato. (We ran out of tortillas and well, at the end of the day, a sweet potato is a carb too!)

Daddy Vegan and I had been craving Tex-Mex lately, and none of our usual chili recipes were doing the trick.  I think it's because our others ones are more "Mex" and not enough "Tex". That's where the 'chipotle' comes in.  "Chipotle" is a smoke-dried jalapeno pepper made from red jalapenos, meaning the peppers that don't get picked when green and are allowed to ripen.  The smoking process removes a little bit of the heat and replaces it with a dry 'smoked' flavour.  Most commonly, chipotles are found canned in an adobo sauce (a hot marinade of other ground up spices).  Recently on a trip to Target's grocery section, I came across ground chipotle powder - and bought it by the gross.  It's basically a chipotle that's been ground into a fine powder, and it's become a staple in my kitchen.

What I love about this chili recipe is that it's hearty, smoky, spicy enough to tease your tongue, and it takes 20 minutes to make. Yes, that's right; 20 minutes. That means WEEKNIGHT dinner, people!  And it's versatile. So far we've served it on baked sweet potatoes, as part of a vegetarian taco salad, in a burrito and it will be the main feature at an upcoming vegan "taco night" at our casa.

This is a base recipe; you can tweak it any which way you like.  Dial up (or down) the heat with the amount of chipotle powder you use; dice in some veggies (red and green bell peppers for color and crunch), or play with the bean mixture too.  Any way you fix it, it's sure to a be a crowd pleaser!

Enjoy!

Chipotle Bean Chili

Ingredients:

3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 jalapeno peppers, finely diced
2 tablespoons vegetable broth
1 cup water divided in thirds
2 tsps chili powder
¼ tsp chipotle chili powder (more if you like it really smoky)

1 x 15oz can pinto beans drained and rinsed well
1 x 15oz can kidney beans  drained and rinsed well

1x15oz can black beans drained and rinsed well
3 tablespoons fresh salsa (store bought is fine)

Directions:

1. Over medium heat, add vegetable broth and onions to pan. Saute until translucent and soft (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and jalapenos and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently to keep garlic from burning.

2. Stir in chili powders and 1/3 cup water; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to form a paste. Add remaining 2/3 cup water and beans. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 10-12 minutes or until most of the water disappears and the sauce is 'thickened'. Remove from heat. Stir in salsa. Partially mash bean mixture with a fork or potato masher.

Cheering for Chili...

It's Labour Day today - and it's cold outside. It's as if Mother Nature knew that we needed a reminder that the warm, carefree days of summer are over and that cooler, more productive days are ahead.  It's the kind of day that makes you crave something hearty. You know the kind...where the sky is grey and cloudy, the wind is whistling a chillier tune.

This kind of day always makes me think of chili.  Deeply rich, warm and comforting - it's the perfect dish to chase away the grey clouds and the looming feeling that winter isn't too far away.  I've never been one for traditional chili - that being ground beef, beans and sauce.  My chili always looks like a mosaic, with bright spots of any and every vegetable I can find dotting the rich, deep red chili sauce background.  Today's was no different. Well okay, it was a little different.  My signature chili always included a combination of ground beef and ground pork for Husband. But we're not eating that way now. So I needed a way to make my chili earthy, meaty and hearty without adding any meat. 

Fortunately, Husband stumbled across a great blog full of vegan recipes.  blog.fatfreevegan.com is a wealth of healthy, whole food vegan recipes that are rich, satisfying and meat-free. Yesterday I made their spicy curried cauliflower and sweet potato soup (I'll be blogging that one later this week).  Today he showed me a recipe for chili stuffed peppers - and as soon as I read it, I knew I had to try it.  It's a black-bean chili...but the base of the dish is portobello mushroom - which lent a deep, rich earthy "meaty' flavour to it - and it's damn near the best chili we've ever eaten.  Half of it was gone before we'd even stuffed the peppers. It's that kind of dish - perfect on it's own, stuffed in a pepper or (as I'm about to indulge) on a plate of nachos.  Most importantly, it proved to us that chili can be meatless and delicious - and that a bowl of food can warm not only your belly, but your heart.

Enjoy!

 p.s. I made these 'vegan' but for those who love dairy, go ahead and sprinkle some shredded monterey jack or cheddar cheese on top before you bake it. 

Black Bean Chili Stuffed Peppers (adapted from www.blog.fatfreevegan.com)

Ingredients

1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 large portobello mushroom, diced
2 jalapeno peppers, minced (you can adjust this based on your taste or heat threshold)
1 16 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed (or 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans)
1/2 cup corn kernels - fresh, frozen or canned
1 15 oz can tomatoes, diced (fire roasted work best but if you don't have them onhand, any good canned tomato will do)
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp chili powder (again, adjust up or down according to your taste)
juice of 1/2 a lime
2 tbsp vegetable broth
4 red bell peppers
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Heat a large non-stick pan on medium high heat and add vegetable broth and onions. Cook, stirring often until soft, about 4 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and diced jalapeno peppers and cook until mushroom soften and turn a deep, rich brown, about 3-4 minutes depending on how finely the mushrooms are diced. 

2. Add black beans, corn, tomatoes and seasonings.  cook, stirring often until most of the tomato liquid cooks out.

3. While the chili is cooking, prepare the peppers by cutting the tops off and removing the seeds and membranes.  Place them in a square glass baking dish.  Note: if your peppers won't stand up, slice a very small piece off the bottom to "even them out' and help them stand.  Fill each pepper with the chili mixture and bake until peppers are tender; about 30-40 minutes.

5. Sprinkle with green onions and serve.