19 March 2012

Sweet Potatoes Make Spicy Chili

I used the last of the sweet potatoes today. The last of last season's CSA sweet potatoes, that is. Ones that had been down in the cellar in a paper bag since, oh, October? One of them was a little funky looking, but the rest were fine. For some reason, I got it in my head that I wanted to make some kind of chili-ish stew-like thing, which is kind of crazy because it's like SPRING out today, but hey. So I kind of riffed on something I found on A Year Of Slow Cooking, and it was pretty good.

Sweet Potato Chili Riff

 2-3 sweet potatoes, peeled and chunked
1 yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced1
2 cups of cooked chickpeas
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2/3 of a 28 ounce can of tomatoes2
1 T. chili powder
1 t. smoked paprika3
1 t. chipotle chili powder4
1/2 t. crushed dried green jalapeno5
1 t. kosher salt
1 1/2 cups water
2-3 T. smooth peanut butter.

Use a 4-5-6 quart slow cooker. Layer all the vegetables in the pot. Add the seasonings. Pour the water over the top. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until everything is nice and squishy. Turn off the cooker, and stir in the peanut butter. Serve over rice, with (or without) grated cheese and sour cream.


1 Well, I would have used fresh garlic but WE HAD NONE. I swear. How did that happen? We did have some granulated Penzey's garlic, so I sprinkled some in.
2 This is ridiculous. 2/3 of a can? It's what there was. Four of the (plum) tomatoes had been fished out for something else; it's what was left.
3 Smoked paprika is the bee's knees. It adds a smoky bacon-y-nessa to everything. Get some if you don't already have it. It's the magical secret ingredient.
     a Or should that be baconiness? I don't think so; too reminiscent of marchioness.
4 Funnily enough, this was in the original recipe. However, my jar of it was a gift from a co-worker's girlfriend; she made it herself with peppers that his brother grew out in the midwest.
5 It's a jar that's been in the cabinet for YEARS. I think it's regenerating or something, because I stick a bit in anything spicy and the jar is still half full
.

5 comments:

mayberry said...

Yum. I have a similar recipe that is very well-received here, but it doesn't have the peanut butter. I'll have to try that next time.

Heide Estes said...

Now that's an interesting recipe. Do the sweet potatoes disintegrate in cooking? I might have to try something like it the next time there are sweet potatoes and cooked chick peas around.

Anonymous said...

I'm similarly feeling like stew, too -- I've got a butternut squash at home that I plan to use in a similar way . . .

MARY G said...

Love smoked paprika. You are making me hungry!

Jenn @ Juggling Life said...

This sounds SO good.