Black bean and sweet potato chili

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, both peppers, sweet potato, and half the salt. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens.
2. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, cinnamon, optional cayenne or chipotle, and tomato paste. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, until fragrant and the paste darkens slightly.
3. Add the tomatoes, black beans, broth, optional cocoa, and remaining salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer.
4. Cook partly covered for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potato is tender and the chili has thickened. Remove the lid for the last 10 minutes if it is still soupy. Add a splash of broth if it becomes too thick before the potato is done.
5. Mash one ladleful of beans and sweet potato against the side of the pot and stir it back in for extra body.
6. Stir in the lime juice. Taste and adjust salt, lime, and chile heat. Serve with any toppings you like.

Notes

• Chili powder blends vary greatly. This recipe assumes a mild blend, not pure ground hot chile. Start with a tablespoon if your blend is unfamiliar and add more after simmering.
• For mild chili, leave out the cayenne or chipotle. For medium heat use a quarter teaspoon, for hot use a half teaspoon and put hot sauce on the table.
• Cut the sweet potato evenly so all of it becomes tender at the same time.
• The optional cocoa should not make the chili taste like chocolate. It rounds out the tomato and chile.
• Sour cream and grated cheese are both good on this, but they take it out of vegan and dairy-free, so they are not in the ingredient list.
• For the gluten-free claim, use vegetable broth and a spice blend explicitly labelled gluten-free; ordinary packaged products can contain gluten through ingredients or cross-contact.
• Cool promptly in uncovered shallow containers no deeper than about 5 cm. Refrigerate once active steaming stops and within 2 hours, then cover when cold. Keep at 4°C or below and use within 3 days.
• Freeze cooled chili in meal-size airtight containers with 2 cm headspace for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or reheat gently from frozen with a splash of broth. Bring soups and sauces to a rolling boil and heat every part to 74°C. Reheat only what you will eat.

Ingredient substitutions

• The preferred chili powder is a mild North American blend, not pure hot chile. In Germany, replace 20 g with 12 g sweet paprika, 3 g ancho or another mild ground chile, 2 g garlic powder, 2 g onion powder, and 1 g oregano. It is less integrated than a commercial blend. In Canada, check that supermarket chili powder is a blend rather than cayenne or pure chile.
• For the optional chipotle or cayenne, German smoked paprika plus a small pinch of cayenne gives smoke and heat but lacks chipotle’s fruity character. Ground chipotle is the closer Canadian replacement. These are not identical.
• Use the stated 720 to 750 g drained beans rather than a tin count. Fully cooked dried beans may replace canned beans by equal drained weight; raw or undercooked beans are not safe substitutes.
• German chopped tomatoes and Canadian diced or crushed tomatoes work at the stated 800 g. Passata is smoother and reduces faster, so add broth if needed.
• Flat-leaf parsley can replace optional cilantro in Germany or Canada, but it is grassier and not equivalent.

Sources consulted

• Cookie and Kate: Vegetarian Sweet Potato Chili
• Health Canada: Food safety tips for leftovers

From Christoph Mayer