A perfect easy meal for a cold Friday night in Lent. This is not only vegetarian but vegan.
Ingredients
1 Tbs plus 2 tsp EVOO
1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs chili powder
4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground chipotle chili
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups water
2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
4 tsp fresh lime juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Directions
Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sweet potato and onion; cook, stirring often, until the onion begins to soften (about four minutes). Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, chipotle and salt; stir constantly for 30 seconds. Add water and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the sweet potato is tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, and lime juice; increase heat to high and return to simmer until slightly reduced, about five minutes. (I lowered the heat at this point and left it on a low simmer for a little bit longer so the flavors could marry.) Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Serves four.
Cook’s note: I didn’t have chipotle powder the day I made this. I just threw in a few dashes of hot sauce and it was fine. Also, I like to top this with a dollop of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt and a little diced avocado. Another option is to serve it over yellow rice, which is a favorite at our house. Click HERE for a yellow rice recipe by Mark Bittman. His calls for saffron threads. I didn’t have any, so I substituted turmeric (and made a few other personalizations) and it came out great.
