Miscellaneous
A Black Bean Soup and Chili System
by Jim Price
Falmouth MA, jprice@whoi.edu
Version 3.4, April, 2005.
 Christmas Chili, 2004
Black bean soup and black bean chili make a hearty and satisfying dish for fall and winter. If you use lean meat in the chili, and go slow with the salt, they are also reasonably healthy.
As you will learn with a little experience, black beans have enough flavor that the final result is not terribly sensitive to the detailed seasonings you may decide to throw in. So keep in mind that you are not baking a cake here, and so what follows are not recipes in the narrow, prescriptive sense. Think of them instead as guidelines for a way of cooking, for a philosophy of life, for a damn good bowl of black bean soup, or chili.
.............. Black Bean Soup ..............
This recipe
for black bean soup is my version of a more complex recipe that
I found in a Caribbean cook book. The fully cooked black beans
are also an essential ingredient for the black bean chili that
follows.
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried black beans
(also called rock beans or turtle beans).
- 2 medium onions, chopped,
- 1/4 cup olive oil,
- 2 to 4 cloves of garlic, diced and fried
in the oil (mostly for the aroma while you do the rest, but be careful not to burn the garlic),
- 1 red and 1 green bell peppers
(these add very little flavor but are good for color; perhaps
best reserved for use as a garnish),
- 1 Tbl chili powder,
- 16
oz can of crushed tomatoes,
- 3 medium bay leaves, crushed,
- 1 to 3 tsp salt,
- other spices, to include oregano, basil,
cumin (1-2 Tbl each),
- vinegar, 3+ Tbl near the end of the cooking,
- Worcester sauce and any kind of hot sauce.
Preparation
Carefully sort through the beans to remove the rocks and dirt that are very commonly found in black beans. I find that it works well to inspect a handful of beans placed one layer deep onto a white saucer. Rinse thoroughly. Boil for about three minutes, soak for an hour and then drain and rinse. This removes most of the sugars that cause gas and does not reduce the flavor appreciably. Cover the beans with a couple of inches of water and simmer over low heat in a large covered pan, stirring occasionally. Add the other ingredients with an hour or so left to go. Black beans do not produce much flavor until they make a rich, thick gravy. If the raw beans are old and dry, this may take four or more hours of steady cooking, so you will need to plan this feast well ahead.
To make an attractive serving for a larger group, place the cooked beans in a ceramic serving bowl and top with several kinds and colors of cheese. Melt (or even slightly brown) the cheese under the broiler. Add garnishes for color and flavor to include sour cream, diced green and red peppers and green onions, and any and every kind of chili sauce. This recipe makes enough soup for about ten generous servings. Black bean soup goes very well with rice, and is hearty enough to be a main course, especially if you throw in some left over pork or beef. But then you start to get into black bean chili.....
.
.............. Black Bean
Chili ..............
This chili recipe is my own version of what is probably a very common meat chili (and it has an uncanny resemblance to the black bean soup). My friends tell me that this is the best chili they have ever had, but you'll have to
decide for yourself. One important thing to note is that this recipe is best prepared a couple of days in advance of serving; as noted already the black beans require many hours of cooking, and the chili is much, much improved after it has aged for a day or two in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
- 2 lb of lean pork, or beef if
you prefer. You can use an inexpensive cut of meat but promise
me that you won't use ground meat!
- 1/4 cup olive oil,
- 4 cloves
of garlic, chopped,
- 1 medium red and 1 medium green sweet bell pepper
- 2 medium sweet onions, chopped,
- 1 lb of dried
black beans. This amount may, of course, be adjusted up or down
depending upon the ratio of meat to vegetables that you like.
These black beans must be cooked thoroughly in advance of their
use here (see the black bean soup recipe above), and are an
essential ingredient, far better than kidney beans. Canned black
beans will work as a substitute, if you allow that they will
probably need to be cooked some.
- 1-2 beef or vegetable boullion
cubes (Knorr, the big ones),
- 16 oz can of crushed tomatoes, or
28 oz if you like, but be careful that the tomatoes are not
too salty or acidic,
- 1 to 6 Tbl chili powder. This range gives
a chili that is quite mild to somewhat hot; if in doubt try
2 or 3 Tbl and add the chili spices later. The idea is to develop
a complex, hearty taste and not simply the world's hottest chili
(which any idiot could do). See remarks on chili powder below.
- 1-2 Tbl cumin seeds, toasted lightly and ground,
- 1-2 Tbl coriander
seeds, toasted and ground,
- 1-2 Tbl tamarind concentrate (can be sour, but adds an interesting, fruity background),
- 2 Tbl
cocoa powder, mixed with warm water to a paste,
- 1 cup red wine,
- approx. 2 tsp salt.
- And other spices, of which more below.
Preparation
Dice the meat into roughly 1/4
inch pieces. You can remove all of the fat first. Thoroughly
fry the meat in the olive oil. Frying should continue well past
the point that all of the water has been driven off. Thorough
browning seems to be the key to getting a full meaty flavor
and making a good rich sauce. When the meat is nearly done,
add the chili powder, continue frying for a few minutes, and then the garlic. Fry
for another few minutes, but don't burn the garlic. On the side, saute thoroughly the chopped onions and bell peppers to bring out their best flavor. Add the vegetables to the pot along with about
4-6 cups of water, and all of the other ingredients, including the pre-cooked black beans. Simmer for an hour or more.
Other spices
could include chilies of all sorts including bottled sauces;
my favorites are: 1) Santa Fe Ole'; a red chili sauce made as
a blend of three chilies (mild and flavorful, I use about 3
Tbl for this recipe) and 2) El Yucateco; a green habanero sauce
that is pure dynamite and adds a completely new layer of spiciness
(back of the tongue). I suggest to start with only about half
a teaspoon of this remarkable stuff, as you can always add this
at the table to suit individual tastes (I'd like more chili
sauce, please).
Other useful additions can include basil, oregano,
or Italian spices (dried, from a jar), Worcestershire sauce,
etc.
Some salt will probably be necessary, but be sure to taste the chili first, as the boullion and the canned tomateoes can be rather salty.
A note on chili powder: after a trip to Santa Fe our cubbard
was filled with aromatic chilis and chili powders, red, green
and smoked. It was irresistible to toss some into our last batch
of chili, but I have to report that the result was a bit disappointing.
The authentic,Chimayao red chili powder gave the chili a rather
sharp, aromatic (chili?) flavor that I did not care for. Seems
like the cheap (99 cents/bottle) brown chili powder from the
local drug store, which is a blend of spices, gives a milder
and more balanced aroma/flavor than did the 'real' red chili
powder. This is a matter of taste alone, of course, and I am
sure that a true Southwesterner (which I can only aspire to be) would find this an appalling comment.
Simmer over medium-low heat until the meat is tender, about
an hour. Dried black beans take many hours to cook, and should
be almost completely cooked before being adding to this recipe
(otherwise you will end up boiling the meat to oblivion). This
chili will keep for several weeks in a cold refrigerator, and it improves dramatically with age. There must be an upper limit to how much age, but I have never seen it go bad --- could this chili be immortal, or does it just get eaten?
To make a semi-veggie version of this chili,
try using only 1/3 to 1/2 lb of meat but with the full amount
of olive oil. Carrots (match stick cut), garbanzo beans, corn
or anything with texture and color can be added with little
or no loss of taste appeal. Just be careful not to overcook
the veggies.
Garnish with diced bell peppers for color, cheese,
sour cream, chopped onions, etc. and serve with warm tortillas
and tortilla chips. If used as a main course, this recipe serves about ten
lucky diners. Ice cold beer is a perfect accompaniment. But so are margaritas.
Enjoy!
|
