Paula Johns's Recipe

Beef and Black Bean Chili With Toasted Cumin Crema and Avocado Relish Recipe Courtesy of Bobby Flay

Category: Chili

1/4 c olive oil
2 lbs beef, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large red onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tbl ancho chili powder
1 tbl pasilla chili powder
1 tbl ground cumin
1 bottle dark beer
5 c homemade chicken stock, or canned low-sodium or water
1 16 oz can chopped tomatoes, drained and pureed
1 tbl chipotle pepper puree
1 tbl honey
2 c cooked or canned black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbl fresh lime juice
Toasted Cumin Crema, recipe follows
Avocado Relish, recipe follows

Directions

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Season the beef with salt and pepper, and sauté until browned on all sides. Transfer the meat to a plate and remove all but 3 tbl of the fat from the pan.

Add the onions to the pan and cook until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the ancho powder, pasilla powder, and cumin and cook an additional 2 min. Add the beer and cook until completely reduced. Return the beef to the pot, add the chick stock, tomatoes, chipotle puree, and honey, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pan, and simmer for 45 minutes. Add the beans and continue cooking for 15 min. Remove from the heat, add the lime juice , and adjust seasonings.

Serve with a dollop of Toasted Cumin Crema and Avocado Relish.

Toasted Cumin Crema:

1 tbl cumin seed
1 c Mexican crema or crème fraiche
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Place the cumin in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Toast until lightly brown. Place in a small bowl. Stir in the crema and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place in a squeeze bottle.

Avocado Relish

2 ripe Hass avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeno or Serrano chili, finely diced
Lime juice
Chopped cilantro leaves
Salt and pepper
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper