Sweet Potatoes

So although I love cooking healthy stuff, this'll never be a recipe blog because there are already plenty of wonderful bloggers out there blogging up excellent recipe and food ideas.  But every so often, I just have to share some favorite food tidbits.

Lately I'm into orange foods. Maybe it has something to do with the season. I crave pumpkin and sweet potatoes and squash. A few posts back, I shared my favorite pumpkin cookie recipe (I'll have to do pumpkin bread and pumpkin curry soup one of these days...).  I've been really into sweet potatoes the last couple weeks and wow, they're good (and way better for you than regular potatoes - and my kids love them).  I've enjoyed  sweet potato chips and fries, sweet potato curry - and my new favorite - sweet potato and black bean chili - sort of perfect for Halloween with the black and orange involved...  Here's the recipe I got from a neighbor after loving the dish she brought to a pot-luck (original is here but I changed a few things to make it better - to me at least):

Looking for a delicious and healthy chili recipe for Super Bowl Sunday? When the winds turn blustery and the dark draws in, we need zesty, spicy flavors to wake us up, and good solid nourishment to see us through the winter months. This richly-colored, flavorful chili is the perfect answer.

Immune-boosting garlic and onion, along with red pepper and lime, combine with black beans and nourishing sweet potatoes to make one very satisfying autumn one-pot meal. You can serve it on rice, or with Pumpkin Biscuits, taco chips, or corn bread. Either way, it makes a whole-foods, healthful answer to the perennial question, “What’s for dinner?” Here’s the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 large sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (or 3 sweet potatoes - I like more)
Zest and juice of 1 lime (can just do lime juice if you don't want to mess with the zesting)
1 28-can diced tomatoes
4 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained (or 6 cups freshly cooked)
1 jalapeno chile pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 lime, cut into wedges
1 cup chopped cilantro leaves, washed and dried

1. Warm the oil in a large pan over medium heat and add the onion, red pepper, garlic, and salt. Saute until soft, about 4 minutes.

2. Add the sweet potato and lime zest, and cook 10 to 15 minutes more, continuing to stir occasionally.

3. Add the tomatoes, black beans, jalapeno, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, and cocoa, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.

4. Serve over brown rice, if desired, with lime wedges and cilantro, or with corn bread, biscuits, or taco chips alongside. (I just serve with chopped cilantro and lots of fresh-squeezed lime juice)

Serves 6.

photo credit: flyzipper via Flckr