Black Bean Chili

[downsizingnow48]

About 25 years ago we had dinner at a small restaurant in Mt Shasta. I had the black bean chili which was really good. The owner had a self-published cookbook with all her recipes, so we bought that before we left. We have been making black bean chili by that recipe ever since.

2 cups black beans
4 bay leaves
3 med yellow onions chopped
3/4 cup corn oil
4 cloves garlic minced
1 jalapeno seeded and chopped
3 cups fresh tomatoes diced
1 bunch cilantro chopped
1 tbs Mexican oregano
2 tbs cumin
2 tbs paprika
2 tbs dark red chili powder
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tbs salt
1 tbs sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar

First cook the beans and bay leaves until soft.

Then put onions, garlic, all the spices, the jalapeno, salt and sugar in a frying pan and saute for a short while.
Then add the vinegar and tomatoes and saute another short while.

Now put everything together and add the cilantro. Serve with sour cream, avocados, or whatever you like on the side.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

About 25 years ago we had dinner at a small restaurant in Mt Shasta. I had the black bean chili which was really good. The owner had a self-published cookbook with all her recipes, so we bought that before we left. We have been making black bean chili by that recipe ever since.

2 cups black beans
4 bay leaves
3 med yellow onions chopped
3/4 cup corn oil
4 cloves garlic minced
1 jalapeno seeded and chopped
3 cups fresh tomatoes diced
1 bunch cilantro chopped
1 tbs Mexican oregano
2 tbs cumin
2 tbs paprika
2 tbs dark red chili powder
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tbs salt
1 tbs sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar

First cook the beans and bay leaves until soft.

Then put onions, garlic, all the spices, the jalapeno, salt and sugar in a frying pan and saute for a short while.
Then add the vinegar and tomatoes and saute another short while.

Now put everything together and add the cilantro. Serve with sour cream, avocados, or whatever you like on the side.

That's an amazing array of spices in that recipe...almost like you are making your own chili powder or taco seasoning.

 

[Bird]

But no meat? I like meat in my chili. Since I'm lazy, I wish there was a canned chili that I liked, but if such exits I haven't found it yet. It seems that Wolf Brand is the most popular, and it isn't worth carrying home, to my taste. So I just make my own chili, using Wick Fowler's 2 Alarm Chili Mix.

 

[downsizingnow48]

Yes all the different spices make it very flavorful.

I am myself a hardcore meatatarian. This is one of a few things I make that is not meat. In fact I can't recall seeing a black bean recipe that includes meat. That said, I have been known to use some bacon, or smoked sausage anyway.

 

[RayfromTX]

That looks almost exactly like my recipe except I use olive oil and use chipotle chile powder instead of cayenne for add smokiness. chipotle is really just smoked jalapeños but it sounds more authentic. Many years ago I got a laugh at the garden store when I was looking for chipotle peppers to grow and the smart kid showed me the jalapeños and told me to have at it.

 

[downsizingnow48]

I'll have to try the chipotle powder in place of cayenne, sounds good.

 

[Kernopelli]

That's an amazing array of spices in that recipe...almost like you are making your own chili powder or taco seasoning.

On the subject of spices, I make a fair amount of Mexican/ Southwestern dishes and decided that regardless of brand, the paprika I used was always bland and almost flavorless. I went to my go-to source, Cooks Illustrated/ Cooks Test Kitchen/ Cooks Country to see what they recommended. Their choice ( by comparison) is Simply Organic Smoked Paprika. Frankly, I never knew paprika could ( SHOULD) have a delicious and pronounce flavor. Simply Organic's is sweet and smoky and will add a very pleasing dimension to your recipes. If you use paprika in many of your recipes, I cant emphasise trying this one enough!

 

[downsizingnow48]

I agree that supermarket spices are often overage and relatively flavorless. Here in California there are lots of ethnic groceries -- Mexican, Middle Eastern, Indian, and Asian -- with excellent variety and quality of spices and herbs. Sometimes I order online from

Spices at Penzeys

They are always good. When I lived in rural Virginia I used Penzeys a lot more because there were no ethnic groceries locally.