Entrees

Dirty Rice and Beans, Well Spiced!

Jason Frishman, FolkFoods

This is a savory, warming sweet potato chili with black beans served over rice with lots of additions (the additions give it the tongue-in-cheek name of dirty rice!). This recipe was taught in a recent City Market class on making homemade hot sauce as an example of a great recipe to serve it with. If you like your chili well-spiced, feel free to use hot sauce in this recipe, or let each person put it on top of their own helping.

Prep Time

90 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Yield

4 Servings

Ingredients

3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 1⁄2 cups onion, yellow
1 1⁄4 cups celery
1 cup bell pepper, green
1 cup bell pepper, red
2 cloves garlic
1⁄2 teaspoon thyme, dried
1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 1⁄2 cups rice, brown
3 cups stock, chicken
1 onion
1 sweet potato
  orange zest
1 tablespoon oregano, fresh
8 ounces tempeh
3 cans beans, black
1 bouillon cube, vegetarian
1 can tomato, fire-roasted
1 tablespoon hot sauce

Instructions

For the rice: Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, green and red bell pepper and garlic and cook, stirring, until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes more. Stir in thyme, cayenne to taste and salt.

Add rice and broth to vegetables and bring to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer at the lowest bubble until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender, about 50 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.

For the beans: Sauté in 2 Tbsp coconut oil the onions, sweet potatoes and seasonings for about 5 minutes. Add sausage/tempeh/tofu if using and sauté for 5 minutes more to brown it. Add beans, bouillon cube, and approximately 1/2 cup water. Add optional tomatoes and hot sauce and bring to a simmer. Season to taste with more hot sauce and salt and pepper.