Sweet Potato Chili

Oh goody - do I have something delicious today!!!! I made a non-traditional - and vegetarian - Chili, and we all simply can’t get enough of it. Not only does it taste wonderful, it clearly also warms the heart and the soul with it’s earthy undertones and incredible texture. As with most chilis, leftovers are just fantastic the next day. So, make enough, keep some, put it in the fridge, and warm it up again a day or two later. Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs. sweet potatoes

4 Tbs. olive oil salt

1 ½ tsp. cayenne pepper

2 tsp. cumin seeds

scant 1 tsp. coriander seed

2 small onions

4 garlic gloves

1 red chili 1 cup chopped cilantro

1 yellow bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1 can (15.5 oz.) cannellini beans 1 can (15.5 oz.) kidney beans 1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 whole cinnamon stick

2 cans (15.5 oz./each) chopped tomatoes

1 ½ cups veggie stock

Let’s get started:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Peel the sweet potatoes, cut in half, and then cut into ½ inch cubes (roughly - precision is not warranted here). Put the cubed sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Add 2 Tbs. olive oil, ½ tsp. salt, 1 tsp. cayenne, 1 tsp. cumin seeds, and 1 tsp. coriander seed. Stir and mix until all sweet potato cubes are coated. Now pour it all onto a baking sheet and let it roast in the hot oven for 30 minutes. Make sure you turn the sweet potatoes at least once so that they don’t burn. Once they are done, remove them from the oven - this should roughly coincide with your progress in making the rest of the chili.

While the sweet potatoes are roasting, prepare the remaining ingredients:

Finely dice the onions and mince the garlic. Slice the chili in half lengthwise and remove seeds and white inner lining. Slice the chili halves crosswise into very thin strips. Cut the bell peppers in half, remove the stem, seeds, and white inner lining. Now coarsely chop the bell peppers. Empty both types of beans into a colander and rinse under cold water. Let drain.

In a large pot, heat the remaining olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and the garlic. Sautée for about four minutes.

Now add the thinly-sliced chili, the remaining ½ tsp. cayenne pepper, the remaining 1 tsp. cumin seeds, 1 tsp. smoked paprika, ½ tsp. salt (or to taste), and the stick of cinnamon. Stir and sautée for about a minute until the spices are clearly fragrant.

Next, add the veggie stock, the tomatoes, both types of beans, the bell peppers, and the cup of chopped cilantro. Stir and bring to a boil.

Once the chili comes to a boil, reduce the heat to simmer and let cook for 30 minutes.

Your sweet potatoes should be nicely roasted by now.

Remove them from the oven if you haven’t done so yet and add them to the chili. Stir and adjust spices (salt and cayenne) if necessary.

Serve with fresh baguette or rice. Sprinkle some cheddar on top if you want, too. Enjoy!