Bean Stew

Beans for the Heart



I have friends in Texas, and although they may be wrong in their definition of what Barbeque should be made of (pork, of course), I won’t argue with them about their definition of chili. According to them a bowl of red is made with meat and chilies. Period. In deference to their sensitivity (is "sensitive Texan" an oxymoron?), I try not to mention that a little west of them the definition is less dogmatic nor that I think folks anywhere along the border with Mexico are entitled to define the dish as they will. Note: People in Cincinnati are absolutely not entitled to define chile, they lost all vestiges of authority (and dignity, for that matter) when they first used spaghetti.

So I'm not calling this dish "chili," although it does contain chilies, instead I'm calling it Frijol Estofado (Bean Stew).

When I was growing up Mom browned ground beef and onions, added a can of beans and a envelope of McCormick Chili mixture, and called that chili.

I've been exploring dried beans lately. I never cared for them as a kid but a couple of years ago something prompted me to create Cannellini Méditerranée and I was astounded at how easy and delicious it was. The cannellini dish, combined with my efforts to more tightly control my food costs, led me to further bean explorations, which led me back to chili.

When I was growing up Mom browned ground beef and onions, added a can of beans and a envelope of McCormick Chili mixture, and called that chili. And, in fact, it is what most people outside of the Southwest think of as chili — I still do. But since those days I've learned to pick my battles and a couple of weeks ago I decided to do something more bean-centric, with just a bit of Mexican chorizo added for flavor.

The corn adds a marvelous sweetness that highlights and slightly counteracts the capsicum from the chile powder.

Frijol Estofado

Prep:
2 oz salt pork — cut into 1/4" cubes
1/2 lb chorizo — cut into 1/4" slices
1 md onion — diced
1 md bell pepper — seeded and diced
1 jalapeno pepper — seeded and minced
2 tsp chile powder **see below
2 tbsp cumin
1 tsp Mexican oregano
2 cloves garlic — minced
Frijol:
1 lb dried light red kidney beans
1 smoked ham hock
1 md onion — quartered
1 stalk celery
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp salt
Estofado:
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
2 15 oz cans corn

Prep:
Render the fat from the salt pork in a large Dutch oven over low heat — about 10 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and brown chorizo. Remove to a plate using a slotted spoon. Reduce heat to medium and sauté onion, bell pepper, chile powder, cumin, and oregano until they just start to brown. Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Remove to plate with sausage. Refrigerate.

Frijol:
Slash the ham hock in several places then place it and all the Frijol ingredients in a stock pot along with enough water to cover by two inches. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook 3 hours. (Even better, place the pot in a 350F oven.) Top up the liquid if needed, but you don’t want a watery mixture.

Estafado:
Remove onion quarters and celery and discard. Add reserved sausage, sauteed veggies, tomatoes, and corn. Cook 1 to 1 1/2 hours longer until beans are tender and flavors meld. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Chile Powder: Grind together 2 chipotle peppers, 3 passilas, and 2 anchos to a fine powder.

The dish should be moist but not soupy. Sour cream is a great addition.

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | beans | southwest

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