Black Bean Squash Chili

Julia H

From mom

1 small butternut squash, peeled, halved, and seeded

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped

1 medium carrot, finely chopped

1 medium orange bell pepper, coarsely chopped (optional)

1 14.5-ounce can crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

4 cups cooked or 3 (15.5-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 chipotle chile in adobo, minced

1 cup apple juice

3 tablespoons chili powder

½ teaspoon ground allspice

½ teaspoon sugar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cut the squash into ¼-inch dice and set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the squash, onion, carrot, and bell pepper, if using.

Cover and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, beans, and chipotle. Stir in the apple juice, chili powder, allspice, sugar, and salt and black pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.

Simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and simmer about 10 minutes longer.

Serve immediately. If not using right away, bring to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 weeks, then thaw before reheating.

The recipe has a hefty amount of chile. The chipotle is hot. So if you are sensitive to spicy foods, add the chili powder a teaspoon at a time (the 3 tablespoons measurement equals 6 teaspoons) to get the amount of heat you prefer. For mildest of mild chile, use sweet Spanish, Hungarian or California paprika; for slightly hotter, try ground Ancho; for fruity heat, splurge on Aleppo chile; and for searing fire, go for cayenne. This technique of cooking vegetables with little oil until they're steaming in their own juices before you mix in the other ingredients deepens flavors in ways that just tossing everything into the pot and simmering it can never achieve. Try this with other recipes. In our test we used unfiltered apple cider. Most supermarkets have it in the produce section this time of year. The recipe has a hefty amount of chile. The chipotle is hot. So if you are sensitive to spicy foods, add the chili powder a teaspoon at a time (the 3 tablespoons measurement equals 6 teaspoons) to get the amount of heat you prefer. For mildest of mild chile, use sweet Spanish, Hungarian or California paprika; for slightly hotter, try ground Ancho; for fruity heat, splurge on Aleppo chile; and for searing fire, go for cayenne. This technique of cooking vegetables with little oil until they're steaming in their own juices before you mix in the other ingredients deepens flavors in ways that just tossing everything into the pot and simmering it can never achieve. Try this with other recipes. In our test we used unfiltered apple cider. Most supermarkets have it in the produce section this time of year.

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