Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili

This is truly excellent. A great recipe. Serve it with rice, and you have enough to feed an army, on a very modest budget. I substituted a dried guajillo chile in place of the jalapeno, but since most people don't stock dried chiles, I posted the recipe with the jalapeno.


2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup green onion, roughly chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced
2 medium sweet potatoes, diced
3 large garlic cloves, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
2 to 3 tablespoons chili powder
1 to 2 teaspoons sea salt
1 to 2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 to 2 teaspoons dried basil
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 bay leaf
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
2 (14-ounce) cans vegetable or chicken broth
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)

Garnishes: chopped fresh cilantro, green onion slices



Heat oil in a heavy large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add green onion, bell peppers, jalapeño, and sweet potato; cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.

Stir in garlic, and cook about 1 minute. Add chili powder and next 7 ingredients; stir and cook 1 minute.

Add tomatoes and broth. Simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes.

Stir in beans, and continue to cook 10 minutes.

Remove bay leaf, and stir in lime juice. Garnish, if desired.




NB: If you happen to have epazote on hand, this is a good place to use it.



--Adapted from Cooking Light magazine