RECIPE: Black Bean Chili

We recently enjoyed a week of summer-like weather here in Southern Ontario (our Thanksgiving weekend was apparently the nicest weather we've had for that holiday in 50 years!) Today the weather's snapped back to more typical fall temperatures, and there's a lot of rain in the forecast for the next several days. In other words, it's perfect soup and stew weather!

One of our favourite meals in the cooler months is Black Bean Chili. In fact, I make this so often I can't quite believe I haven't shared the recipe here yet, but somehow I've never gotten around to it!

This recipe is easy to customize to your own family's preferences. It can be made vegetarian by omitting the ground beef, and the level of spiciness can be controlled by adjusting the amount of chili powder. If you prefer more tomato texture, you can use a 28 can of diced tomatoes plus 2-3 tbsp tomato paste in place of the crushed tomatoes (you will probably need to add less water as well).

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium red pepper, diced
1-2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 -1 lb ground beef
3 cups cooked black beans
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
12 oz can of corn, drained
1 tsp cumin
2-3 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

grated cheddar cheese, sour cream and chopped avocado for topping (optional)

Instructions:

 In a large, heavy bottomed-saucepan or deep skillet, saute onion, garlic and red pepper in olive oil until they start to soften. Add ground beef and cook until no trace of pink remains.

Add black beans, tomatoes, water, corn, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, adding more tomatoes and/or water as needed to get desired consistency.

Ladle into bowls and top with cheese, sour cream and/or avocado as desired.

Serves 6-8.

I shared this recipe at Full Plate Thursday.