Recipe - Black Bean Ancho Chili

1 pound Dried black beans; picked
over and
; rinsed (about 2 1/2
; cups)
2 md Onions; chopped
6 Garlic cloves
3 tablespoon Vegetable oil
1 tablespoon Ground cumin
7 One half cup Water
3 ounce Dried ancho chilies*;
stemmed, seeded,
; and torn into
; pieces (wear rubber
; gloves) (about 6)
A; (28ounce) can
; tomatoes including
; the juice, pureed
; coarse
1 cup Chicken broth
1 Red bell pepper; chopped
1 teaspoon Dried oregano; crumbled
1/3 cup Chopped fresh coriander; or
to taste
2 tablespoon Fresh lime juice; or to
taste
Avocado salsa; (recipe
follows) as
; an accompaniment if
; desired
Sour cream as an
accompaniment if desired

FOR SALSA
1 Avocado; (preferably
; California)
1 One half tablespoon Fresh lime juice; or to
taste
One half cup Finely chopped red onion
1 Fresh or pickled jalapeno;
seeded and minced
; (wear rubber
; gloves)

*available at Hispanic markets, some specialty foods shops, and some
supermarkets

Make salsa:

Halve and peel the avocado and cut it into 1/4inch dice. In a bowl
toss the avocado with the juice, the onion, the jalapeno, and salt
and pepper to taste. Makes 1 One half cups.

Make chili:

In a large bowl let the beans soak in enough water to cover them by 2
inches for 1 hour and drain them. In a large heavy kettle cook the
onions and 4 of the garlic cloves, minced, in the oil over moderate
heat, stirring, until the onions are softened, add the cumin, and
cook the mixture, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the beans and 6 cups
of the water and simmer the mixture, uncovered, adding more water if
necessary to keep the beans barely covered, for 1 hour, or until the
beans are tender.

While the beans are simmering, in a small saucepan bring the
remaining 1 One half cups water to a boil, add the chilies, and remove the
pan from the heat. Let the mixture stand for 20 minutes and in a
blender puree the chilies with the liquid. Add the chili puree, to
the bean mixture with the tomato puree, the broth, the bell pepper,
the oregano, and salt to taste and simmer the mixture, uncovered,
stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Stir in the coriander, the
lime juice, and the remaining 2 garlic cloves, minced, and simmer the
chili for 5 minutes.

The chili may be frozen or made 4 days in advance, cooled, uncovered,
and kept covered and chilled. Serve the chili with the avocado salsa
and the sour cream.

Makes about 10 cups, serving 4 to 6.

Gourmet December 1992

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