black bean & sweet potato chili

The girls and I went shopping at Easton yesterday, and while we were there we went to Northstar Café where I had the most delicious burrito with eggs, organic black beans, roasted sweet potatoes, sautéed peppers & onions, melted white cheddar, and housemade salsa. The combination of black beans and sweet potatoes was unexpectedly delicious and it got me thinking that I should experiment with this flavor combination more often.

So tonight I made some black bean & sweet potato chili for dinner.



Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
2 medium sweet potatoes, diced
3 large garlic cloves, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 bay leaf
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced fire roasted tomatoes
28 ounces organic free range chicken broth
2 (15-ounce) cans organic black beans, rinsed and drained
sweet yellow corn (a handful or two)
juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)

Preparation
Heat oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat; add onion. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 to 15 minutes or until tender. Add bell peppers, jalapeño, and sweet potato; cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, and cook about 1 minute. Add chili powder and the rest of the spices; stir and cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes and broth. Simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes. Stir in beans and corn; continue to cook 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf and stir in lime juice.

I served it over cilantro'd rice and (cheddar, jack, and mozz blend) cheese with a sprinkle of green onions on top.

Alongside the chili I tried a lovely (and cheap) Trader Joes red wine with a feisty lil kick:



I really enjoyed making this dish - especially because Chris helped out with a lot of the prep work! The end result: hearty and flavorful. The sweet potatoes were just melt-in-your mouth, there was a tang of lime and a bit of heat, and the cheese sort of melded everything together and rounded out the flavors nicely. I'm really looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow!