The first Friday of the month is reserved for recipes. You can see additional First Friday Food posts here.

The Reason:

Okay, so I missed that LAST Friday was actually the first Friday of the month. SO SUE ME.

I mentioned last month that I had a fall recipe queued up and ready to go, and this is it. If I were going to a chili cookoff, this is the recipe I would bring. It’s totally chili, and yet it’s totally not chili. Totally unique, and totally wonderful.

The Journey:

Like any good chili, this is mostly just throwing everything in a pot and letting it sit. However, in this case, everything means, like, EVERYTHING.

So, you know, you save on the cooking part, and you pay on the cleaning-up-the-disaster part.

The Verdict:

I think you just have to try this to understand it. I’m not sure words can really capture the strange, yet strangely working combinations of flavor here.

And as a side note, we doubled the recipe to have enough for a 2nd night. Just saying…

The Recipe:

Recipe from The Kitchn.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 14.5-ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1/2 pound dried black beans, rinsed well
• 1 chipotle chile from canned chipotle chiles in adobo, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups sweet potatoes (2-3 small), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
• sour cream, to top (optional)
• green onions, chopped, to top (optional)
• fresh cilantro, chopped, to top (optional)

1. Soak black beans in hot water for several hours (or overnight)
2. Heat the oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and beginning to brown, 6-7 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, and coriander and stir. Cook together for 1 minute.
3. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, beans, chipotle pepper, and oregano. Add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid slightly ajar and simmer until beans are flavorful and tender, anywhere from 2 – 4 hours (depending on the age of your beans). Even with pre-soaking, we cooked the beans for about 3 hours.
4. After ~3 hours of cooking, add the sweet potatoes, quinoa, and salt. Place the pot’s lid back on slightly ajar and allow to simmer on low heat until the beans are soft and the sweet potatoes and quinoa are cooked through (about another hour). Add more water if the chili becomes too thick. Serve with sour cream, cilantro, and green onion.