Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

We’ve been looking for ways to incorporate more sweet potato into our meals… and there’s no such thing as too much black bean! This is a modification of this recipe over at Eating Well.

This is a beautiful dish!

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili
3 tbsp olive oil
1-2 onions, finely diced
3 small orange sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (see precook below)
12 cloves garlic
6 tbsp chili powder
4 tablespoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
3 can diced tomatoes
4 tablespoons lime juice
fresh cilantro

Precook: microwave the whole sweet potatoes for 3-4 minutes before dicing, just to soften them a bit.
1. In a large pot, saute the oil, onions and potato over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the onion is slightly softened.
2. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, chipotle and salt and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Add 2 2/3 cup water, beans, tomatoes and lime juice; increase heat to high and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Cover, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook 14-18 minutes.

Garnish with cilantro and plain yogurt or sour cream (dairy or vegan). Serve with warm tortillas, chips, rice or quinoa.

The coolness of a little yogurt (or sour cream) is a wonderful complement to the sweet heat of the chili.