Sweet Potato Chili…

Last week I made one of my favorite vegetarian recipes, Chipotle-Spiced Sweet Potato Chili.  This is a recipe that is super easy, and I generally have all of the ingredients in my pantry. 

The sweet potato is the one vegetable that I just wouldn’t want to live without. 

And a recipe that starts out with this can not be anything less than wonderful.

Ingredients

• 1 pound Sweet Potatoes, Peeled And Cubed Into 1/2 Inch Dice
• 2 Tablespoons Extra-virgin Olive Oil, Divided
• 1 whole Onion, Medium Dice
• 2 cloves Garlic, Rough Chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Ground Chili Pepper
• 2 teaspoons Ground Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Ground Chipotle Pepper Powder
• 1 cup Dark Beer
• 1 can 28 Oz Can Whole Tomatoes
• 2 whole Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce, Chopped
• ½ cups Barbecue Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Red Hot Sauce (more If Desired)
• 1-½ cup Frozen Corn
• 1 can (15 Oz. Can) Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 2 cups Crushed Tortilla Chips, If Desired
• Salt And Pepper, to taste

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place sweet potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet or jelly roll pan and toss with one tablespoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper as desired and bake for approximately 8–10 minutes or until sweet potatoes are just tender.

Heat a deep heavy pot over medium heat and add the remaining olive oil. Sauté the onions until lightly caramelized. Add the garlic, chili powder, chipotle powder and cumin and cook for an additional minute or until spices are fragrant. Stir them frequently so they don’t burn at the bottom of the pan.

Deglaze the pan with the beer and scrape up any browned bits (these are called fond and they’re full of flavor) from the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes, chipotle peppers, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce.

Simmer the chili for about 15-20 minutes or until it begins to thicken slightly. Add the corn, beans, sweet potatoes, salt and pepper to taste.

Serve in a bowl topped with crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

What you get is a pot full of yumminess.  The recipe as written is pretty smoky and it’s taken a few tries to get it just right for us.  I exclude the chipotle peppers, and when I made it this time I didn’t have any dark beer so I substituted veggie stock to deglaze the pan.  I like to top it off with a little Monterey jack cheese and then the only thing left to do is eat.

It can’t be easier.  You should try it.