Just made the annual fall tradition of Butternut Squash Sweet Potato Chili Every fall my wife and I make this chili recipe which is one of our favorite meals. As a bonus, it is also both vegetarian and (for those of you eat chili without cheese) vegan. We actually don't keep a recipe so every year it is a little bit different. This years came out particularly nice so I'll try to summarize as best as I can remember. Don't get to caught up in specific measurements, everything is my best estimate.
Ingredients
1 Large Sweet Potato
1 Medium Butternut Squash
1 Medium Red Onion
1 Red Bell Pepper
2 Cups Dry Black Beans
1 Jalapeno
3-4 Cloves Garlic
64 Oz Canned Tomatoes with Green Chilis
1-2 Cups Vegetable Stock
1/4 Cup Pure Maple Syrup
3-4 Dried Chipotle Peppers
1 Tablespoon Cumin
1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
1 Tablespoon Hot/Smoked Hungarian Paprika
1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder
3-4 Bay Leaves
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Good grind of black pepper
Instructions
1.) Pressure cook dry beans on high for 19 minutes. If pressure cooking is not an option, you can start soaking the beans the day before. Please use dry beans here. You might think it is "easier" to buy a couple of cans and put those in. Dry beans are not difficult. Throw them in a bowl of water the night before or throw them in a pressure cooker before chopping. The time it takes to do that is just as little as it is to find your can opener and open the can/drain the liquid. The only "hard" thing about dry beans would be finding them in a different grocery store isle. You will not regret using dry beans when you experience the texture of the beans in your finished chili.
2.) Chop/dice all vegetables. Go for a medium dice for the onion/peppers and approximately 1 cm cubes for the squash/sweet potato.
3.) Mix your spices together. If you can get dried chilis an old whirly blade coffee grinder is perfect for making them a powder.
4.) Start cooking your onion in a large dutch oven with a few tablespoons of olive oil. After they turn translucent, add the peppers and continue cooking for another couple of minutes. Make a small well in the middle of your onions/peppers and add a bit more oil. Mince your garlic and cook it in this well. It will brown and cook rapidly. Stir it constantly and once it is nicely browned and aromatic stir it into the onion/peppers and add your butternut and sweet potato. Cook this for a few minutes stirring frequently.
5.) Put all the remaining ingredients into dutch oven. Save the vegetable stock for last and use it to get your liquid level to the desired level. You want it to be just about up to the the top of the ingredients.
6.) Cover the dutch oven and simmer over low heat for about 90 minutes. Give the pot a good stir every 20-30 minutes. Taste your chili as it simmers. This is the time to add additional spices to mold the chili to your specific taste preference.
7.) Serve the chili with avocado and a healthy portion of cheddar cheese. If you accidentally made it too spicy for your taste buds put some sour cream or plain greek yogurt to tame it down a bit.