Last winter, Natalie & Cassie posted a recipe for Black Bean Chili. It's too hot to be thinking about soup now, but as I looked through the ingredients, I thought it is a good time to plan ahead so you can make this with local produce in the winter.
You can freeze things like diced chili peppers pretty easily...they do very well in soups. I've read you can also freeze tomatoes, though I prefer to can them. Now's the time to do that as well. And onions, well, you can probably get those in the winter, but maybe freezing those would work as well. Point is, for many winter recipes, the work starts in July.
Here's the recipe...please share if you have other suggestions for things we should be putting up now, and how to do it. We all can learn from each other!
Black Bean Chili
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1 pound of Grateful Growers ground pork (unseasoned)
1 cup diced onion
as many garlic cloves as you can stand, minced
1 quart jar of canned tomatoes, diced (don't drain them)
4 cups of cooked black beans
1 cup diced green chiles
1 bottle of beer
1 small can of tomato paste
spices - quantities are approximate
2 TBSP chili powder
salt (to taste - add it last)
2 TBSP cumin
1 TBSP dried or 3 TBSP fresh minced cilantro
1 TBSP cocoa powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
cayenne or minced jalapeno to taste if you like your chili on the hotter side
Heat 1 TBSP oil or lard in a 3 qt saucepan or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Have swig of beer, then add the ground pork to the pot. Break it up as chunky or as fine as you like it and cook it until it's half done. Add 3/4 cup or so beer to the pot, and continue cooking the meat until done. Add onion and garlic, cover the pot and simmer all of that until the onions are translucent. Now, add the tomatoes, chiles, beans and spices. Add warm water if you need to in order to keep the mixture covered - you can thicken it with tomato paste a tablespoon at a time. Let the whole thing cook for at least an hour on low heat, stirring and tasting frequently. Add liquid as necessary. Tweak the spices just before dishing it up. Serve with warm tortillas, tortilla chips or cornbread. If you're into garnishes, have at it with some minced onion, shredded jack or colby cheese, a dab of sour cream, more cilantro & green chiles or hot pepper of your choice. If there's any beer left, toast your favorite pig farmers, and enjoy! :)
