Once You Go Black

Once you go black, you don’t go back. Beans that is.

It took me a long time to get to love black beans. I think I was in my 40’s before I really learned to appreciate those little legumes. When I go to the fast food restaurant Chipotle and fill up my burrito, it is black beans I choose. If I want to make something southwestern, I am more likely to make it with black beans vs pinto or red. Chili, however, is a different thing.

I love me some chili and in my typical chili there are no beans. In the next rung down I use more traditional pinto and red beans. It is rare that a make a black bean chili. I am glad I did though.

Mexican Black Bean Sausage Chili

This combination just plain works!

Like many chilies, there are a ton of ingredients here.

I used a meatloaf mix that contained ground pork, beef and veal.

Cooking the meat.

Adding the other ingredients.

Ok, I might go back but glad I went black.

Mexican Black Bean Sausage Chili

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients:

Sausage:
1 1/2 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons dry red wine
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Dash of kosher salt
3/4 pound lean ground pork
3/4 pound ground turkey breast
Chili:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups diced onion (about 2 medium)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
2 teaspoons dried oregano
3 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced
4 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained, divided
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided
3 cups water
2 (14.5-ounce) cans no salt-added diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup very finely chopped cilantro, divided
Low-fat sour cream (optional)
Sliced green onions (optional)

Directions:

To prepare sausage, combine first 12 ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

To prepare chili, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sausage mixture; cook 7 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add onion, 1 tablespoon cumin, 1 tablespoon garlic, 2 teaspoons oregano, and chiles; cook 4 minutes or until onion is tender. Place 1 1/2 cups black beans and 1 cup broth in a food processor; process until smooth. Add puréed beans, remaining beans, remaining 2 cups broth, water, and tomatoes to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, 45 minutes or until slightly thick. Stir in juice and cilantro. Ladle about 1 3/4 cups chili into each of 6 bowls. Garnish each serving with sour cream and sliced green onions, if desired.

Nutritional Info: Calories 395
Caloriesfromfat 27 %
Fat 11 g
Satfat 2.9 g
Monofat 6 g
Polyfat 2.1 g
Protein 35.3 g
Carbohydrate 40.4 g
Fiber 13.7 g
Cholesterol 78 mg
Iron 6 mg
Sodium 989 mg
Calcium 128 mg

Source: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/mexican-black-bean-sausage-chili