Squash and Black Bean Chili

Based on a recipe from Epicurious. Dan has also blogged about this here, making this our first joint cooking project to also be a joint blogging project.

Ingredients

2.5 c. white onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
4 c. butternut squash, peeled and chopped
3 15 oz. tins black beans, drained and washed
1 14.5 oz tin diced tomatoes
spices: cumin, turmeric, Cayenne pepper, paprika, oregano
3 c. bai cai (Napa cabbage), chopped
approx. 2.5 c. water and vegetable bullion

Methodology


1. Heat the oil in a large pot and add the garlic and onion. Cook until the onion is golden. Add the squash and stir.

2. After about 2 minutes, season it with the spices (you can use chili powder if you have any; we didn't). Add the beans, the tomatoes, the bullion and the water. Cover and bring to a boil, then take the lid off and simmer until the squash is cooked, about 20 minutes.

3. Add the cabbage and cook a few more minutes until it is done. Season with salt and pepper to taste; also Sri Racha Sauce, plain yoghurt, cheddar cheese, etc.

Notes

*This made a ton. The original recipe said "serves 4", but I think it could easily have been dinner for 6.

*I haven't worked out the calories yet, but it's pretty good for you. I'll get on that soon though. Right. Okay, if you assume 10 servings, it's about 220 calories per serving (before the addition of yoghurt/sour cream/cheese/what have you). I'm going with about 1 cup = 1 serving. But that's a rough estimate.

*I would add a tin of Great Northern beans and maybe a tin of kidney beans instead of all black beans, just to make it more interesting. I'm not sure I would keep the cabbage in; unlike Daniel, I'm not convinced it added anything. Also I was really hungry when I was cooking this and didn't spice it enough, so we had to do that after. Oops. This would be really good with a piece of rye bread or maybe fresh Irish soda bread.

*Hey Dan, we should bake some Irish soda bread.

*2/7 on the disaster index.