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 This fantastic black bean chilli is one to make on a night when you've got a bit of time to potter round the kitchen. There are a fair few steps involved, but the final result is more than worth it - the chilli has a deep, complex, smoky flavour, that becomes even more delicious a day or two after cooking. I served this with oven-roasted corn on the cob, spiced roasted vegetables, and tortillas.
The recipe is adapted from one in Anna Thomas' New Vegetarian Epicure. The primary modification is the way I chose to cook the beans. I follow the method described by Russ Parsons in this eGullet thread - no pre-soaking of any kind, and salting right from the start. As long as the beans you are using aren't more than a couple of years old, and you cook them with the lid on, they will be tender in under two hours, without any soaking. Adding the salt at the beginning rather than at the end means that it's the beans which get salted, rather than the broth. And no, this doesn't lead to tough beans - I have cooked a dozen or more pots of various kinds of New World beans using this method over the last few months and they have all been delicious.
The ancho and chipotle chillies I used were ones I bought at the food-lovers festival a couple of months ago at the Chillipepper Pete stall. The chipotles in particular were delicious - they are what give the chilli its subtle smoky, almost chocolatey flavour - and I will definitely be ordering more from their mail-order webpage.
| 450 g dried black beans |
| 1 onion, peeled but left whole |
| 3 cloves of garlic, peeled but left whole |
| 2 teaspoons salt |
| 5-6 sprigs of fresh coriander |
| 5 dried ancho chillies |
| 3 dried chipotle chillies |
| 4 teaspoons cumin seeds |
| 4 teaspoons dried oregano leaves |
| 4 teaspoons paprika |
| 2 tablespoons oil |
| 2 large onions, chopped |
| 1 bay leaf |
| 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped |
| 400 g can chopped tomatoes |
| additional salt to taste |
| 1-2 tablespoons white wine vinegar |
| 3 fresh green chillies, seeded and chopped |
| 1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped |
Preaheat the oven to 150C. In a large saucepan with an ovenproof lid, or a lidded casserole dish, mix together the unsoaked black beans, enough water to cover with a couple of centimetres to spare, the onion, garlic, coriander and salt. Place in the oven and cook for about an hour and a half, or until they are tender. Check every half hour to make sure the water level is not getting too low. Once the beans are tender, remove from the oven and discard the onion, garlic and coriander.
Heat a cast-iron or other heavy pan on the stovetop. Rinse the ancho and chipotle chillies, then put them in the very hot pan, for about 1 or 2 minutes on each side, pressing them down a little bit, until they become slightly darker. Put these scorched chillies in a small pot with just enough water to cover them, and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until they are soft. Remove the chillies from the water (reserve the water), let cool for a few minutes, then pull off and discard their stems and seeds. Place the chillies and their simmering water in a blender and puree.
Toast the cumin seeds in a small pan until they are becoming aromatic. Add the dried oregano and paprika, remove from the heat, and keep stirring together for a minute or so. Then pour this mixture into a mortar and grind it into a coarse powder. Add the powder to the chilli puree.
Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan, and add the onion and the bay leaf. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Stir in the chilli puree, the chopped tomatoes and their juices, the salt, vinegar and chopped green chillies. Add the beans and as much of their cooking liquid as you like. Simmer over low heat for at least 10-15 minutes, until it has the consistency you prefer. Stir in the chopped coriander leaves, then taste and add salt or additional chilli powder to taste.
Serves 8-10.
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31 July 2004
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