Black Bean Chili


Serves: 8
Total Calories: 67

Ingredients

2 cups black turtle beans
1 bay leaf
4 teaspoons cumin seed
4 teaspoons oregano dried leaves
4 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 chile negro or ancho chile, (for chili powder)
2 tablespoons chili powder or more
3 tablespoons corn oil or peanut oil
3 yellow onions diced into 1/4 inch squares
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds tomatoes ripe or canned, peeled, seeded and chopped, juice reserved
1 tablespoon rice cooking wine or more
4 tablespoons cilantro chopped

Directions:

Sort through the beans and remove any small stones. Rinse them well, cover them generously with water, and let them soak overnight.
Next day, drain the beans, cover them with fresh water by a couple of inches and bring them to a boil with the bay leaf. Lower the heat and let the beans simmer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Heat a small heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds, and when they begin to color, add the oregano leaves, shaking the pan frequently so the herbs don't scorch. As soon as the fragrance is strong and robust, remove the pan from the heat and add the paprika and the cayenne. Give everything a quick stir then remove from the pan (the paprika and the cayenne only need a few seconds to toast.) Grind the toasted spices in a mortar or a spice mill to make a coarse powder.

Preheat the oven to 375F. To make the chili powder, put the dried chile in the oven for 3-to-5 minutes to dry it out. Cool it briefly then remove the stem, seeds and veins. Tear the pod into small pieces and grind it into a powder in a blender or a spice mill. Heat the oil in a large skillet and saute the onions over medium heat until they soften. Add the garlic, salt and the ground herbs and chili powder and cook another 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juice. Simmer everything together for 15 minutes then add this mixture to the beans, and, if necessary, enough water so the beans are covered by at least 1-inch.

Continue cooking the beans slowly until they are soft, an hour or longer, or pressure cook them for 30 minutes at 15 pounds pressure. Keep an eye on the water level and add more, if needed, to keep the beans amply covered. When the beans are cooked, taste them and season to taste with the vinegar, additional salt if needed, and the chopped cilantro.

Garnishes : 2 green chiles (Poblano or Anaheim, roasted, peeled & diced), or 2 oz canned green chiles, - rinsed well and diced.
1/2 c grated Muenster cheese
1/2 c Creme fraiche or sour cream
5 Cilantro sprigs

Prepare the garnishes. If you are using fresh green chiles, roast them over a flame until they are evenly charred. Let them steam 10 minutes in a bowl covered with a dish then scrape off the skins, discard the seeds, and dice.

Serve the chili ladled over a large spoonful of grated cheese and garnish it with the creme fraiche or sour cream, the green chilies and a sprig of fresh cilantro. Though served in a bowl and eaten with a spoon, this chili is a great deal thicker than most soups--thick enough in fact to be served on a plate right alongside fritters or cornbread. It also, however, can be thinned considerably with stock, water or tomato juice to make a thinner, but still very flavorful, black bean soup. When thinned to make a soup, it can be served as part of a meal rather than a meal in itself.

Nutritional Facts:

Serves: 8
Total Calories: 67
Calories from Fat: 45

This Black Bean Chili recipe is from the Cook'n Vegetarian Cookbook. Download this Cookbook today.


More Recipes from the Cook'n Vegetarian Cookbook:
Another Garlic Soup Recipe
Black Bean Chili
Borscht Energy Soup
Butternut Squash Chowder
Celery Soup
Chick Pea Soup
Cream of Carrot Soup
Cream of Sweet Potato Soup
Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
Creamy Leek Soup
Creamy Pumpkin Soup
Creamy Spinach Soup
Creamy Vegetable Tahini Soup
Cuban Black Bean Soup
Cuban Navy Bean Soup
Easy Tomato Soup
Elegant Chestnut Soup
Faki (Hellenic Lentil Soup)
Five bean soup
Fresh Mushroom Soup
Great Gazpacho Soup
Great Vegetarian Chili
Groundnut Stew
Hearty Chili con Corn
Hot Rough Tomato Soup
Hot Swiss Cucumber Soup
Hot and Sour Soup
Instant Irish Cream of Potato Soup
Kale & Potato Soup
Kasha Soup
Leek & Tomato Soup
Lemon Rice Soup
Lima Bean and Fennel Stew
Linda McCartney's Avocado and Green Chili Soup
Magnificent Mushroom Soup
Millet Soup
Mushroom Wild Rice Chowder
Plantain Soup
Potato Parsley Bisque
Potato Soup
Quick Pumpkin Soup
Red Bell Pepper Soup
Rice Soup Florentine
Spiced Carrot & Orange Soup
Split Pea Soup with Croutons
Summery Cuke Soup
Tibetan Vegetable Soup
Tofu Noodle Soup
Tortilla Soup
Turkish Borscht
Watercress & Leek Soup
Winter Squash and Apple Soup
Winter Tomato Soup with Vermicelli
Yellow Pepper Soup




"I must say this is the best recipe software I have ever owned."
-Rob

"Your DVO cookbook software saves me time and money!"
-Mary Ann

"Call it nutrition software, meal planning software, cooking software, recipe manager, or whatever you want. It is the software I use to stay healthy!"
-David

"Your software is the best recipe organizer and menu planner out there!"
-Toni

"Thank you so very much for creating such a wonderful cooking recipe program. I think this is the best recipe program there is!"
-Sarah

"I saw lots of recipe software for PC computers but I was having a hard time finding really good mac recipe software. I'm so glad I discovered Cook'n! It's so nice to have all my recipes in a computer recipe organizer. Cook'n has saved me so much time with meal planning and the recipe nutrition calculator is amazing!!!
-Jill

My favorite is the Cook'n Recipe App.
-Tom