The Black Bean Chili of Bliss

So, I can't remember where I found it (typical) but I bought (secondhand, duh) a copy of this book called "Sacramental Magic in a Small-Town Cafe", mostly because the subtitle was "Recipes and Stories from Brother Juniper's Cafe", and if there is anything I love more than recipes, it is a story that goes with it, and even more than a story, I do love me a monk. Then I go and buy Brother Juniper's Bread Book, and then a few MORE cookbooks at a Friends of the Library book sale*, and then Matt sighs and shakes his head and encourages me to log in some hours at The Job.

So, anyway, apparently Brother Juniper was not a REAL person running this cafe; it "is dedicated to the spirit of a famous Franciscan monk (ed note: hoo-rah! monk!) named Brother Juniper...The original Brother Juniper is chronicled in the legends (ed note: !) of St. Francis of Assisi. He was St Francis' favorite monk because he was simple, humble and generous..." (Prologue, "Sacramental Magic in a Small-Town Cafe") Very cool.

One of the chapters was titled "The Zen of Black Bean Chili", and I followed the recipe and made some awesome black bean chili, but, as with any new recipe, I didn't feel very Zen about it until everyone** had tasted and pronounced it good.


And here it is!

Black Bean Chili, from Brother Juniper's Cafe.

#Wash and check over 4 cups of raw dried black beans, and put them to soak in 10 cups of water at room temperature for at least four hours, but preferably overnight.
Drain beans, and discard water.

#In a heavy stockpot*, bring the beans and12 cups of water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally until the beans begin to soften, about 1 ½ hours.
Cooking time depends on the size of the beans, so keep any eye on ’em while you do your prep work!

#Dice 2 medium onions, mince or press 8 large cloves of garlic, and dice enough chilies to make 2 cups. (Mild, medium or hot is up to you.) Dice 1 ¾ pounds of tomatoes (or take the 28 oz can shortcut, WITH juice), and pour or prepare** a cup of beef (or vegetable!) stock. (They actually recommend 1 tablespoon beef stew base, but I couldn't find any Better Than Bouillon, which is the same thing, so I improvised using the cartons of stock they sell at Trader Joe's. It came out a tiny bit soupier than I would normally like, but what can you do?)

#Toast 1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds in a dry frying pan over medium heat, stirring constantly until they begin to crackle and pop, about 1 minute. Remove the seeds from the pan, pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and turn the heat to High.

#Once then oil is hot, add the onion, garlic and chilies, and sauté until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in the cumin seeds and immediately remove from heat. Cover the pan, so that everything can steam together.

#When the beans are soft, stir in the onion mixture and add the tomatoes and 1 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt, the stock, and 4 tablespoons of soy sauce.

#Simmer until liquid is reduced, and the chili has a consistency between soup and gravy. Add more soy sauce if necessary; those bean really soak up the saltiness!

#Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream, garnish with freshly chopped cilantro and a spoonful of red or green salsa!

(Serve bowls of crème fraiche/sour cream and salsa on the side, so people more or less adventurous than you can make adjustments!)


*This usually goes without saying, but I’m just saying: avoid aluminum, because you will be using tomatoes, and that’s a nasty reaction!

**I use the jars of Better Than Bouillon chicken, Beef or Vegetable paste to make my stocks. They last a LOT longer than anything I can make from scratch, unless I freeze it, and when I freeze things like stock I usually forget about it until we’re out of ice, and grab THAT ice cube tray, and I say, “Oh, right, this stuff…” So I don’t even bother, anymore!



Bon Appetit!



*Ten cents each, y'all. I am not even joking!

**I made it at Anna B.'s house for her, her mom and her brother.