Slow-Cooker Black Bean-Mushroom Chili w/ changes

[SusanL]

Got this from EW and loved it. Having time constraints, I wasn't able to use dried black beans or crockpot. That being said, we loved it as well as our neighbors. (The amount of mustard seeds surprised me but they added a fun, pop texture to the chili.) Here is the recipe, I hope to make this entirely on a cold, snowy day when I have the time to prep the dried black beans and use my crockpot.

Slow-Cooker Black Bean-Mushroom Chili
From EatingWell: Winter 2004, The Essential EatingWell Cookbook (2004)
Black beans, earthy mushrooms and tangy tomatillos combine with a variety of spices and smoky chipotles to create a fantastic full-flavored chili. It can simmer in the slow cooker all day, which makes it perfect for a healthy supper when the end of your day is rushed.


10 servings, generous 1 cup each | Active Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 6 1/4-9 1/4 hours


Ingredients
1 pound dried black beans, (2 1/2 cups), rinsed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup mustard seeds
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds, or ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds, or ground cardamom I didn't have any so I substituted a little ground cloves and cinnamon, as per a substitute list I found
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
8 ounces tomatillos, (see Ingredient Note), husked, rinsed and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup water
5 1/2 cups mushroom broth, or vegetable broth
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1-2 tablespoons minced canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, (see Ingredient Note)
1 1/4 cups grated Monterey Jack, or pepper Jack cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 limes, cut into wedges

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Preparation
Soak beans overnight in 2 quarts water. (Alternatively, place beans and 2 quarts water in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 1 hour.) Drain the beans, discarding soaking liquid.
Combine oil, mustard seeds, chili powder, cumin and cardamom in a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven. Place over high heat and stir until the spices sizzle, about 30 seconds. Add onions, mushrooms, tomatillos and water. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are juicy, 5 to 7 minutes. Uncover and stir often until the juices evaporate and the vegetables are lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Add broth, tomato paste and chipotles; mix well.
Place the beans in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Pour the hot vegetable mixture over the beans. Turn heat to high. Put the lid on and cook until the beans are creamy, 5 to 8 hours.
Garnish each serving with cheese, a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.
Stovetop Variation: Total: 4 1/2 hours In Step 2, increase broth to 81/2 cups. Omit Step 3. Add the beans to the Dutch oven; cover and simmer the chili gently over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the beans are creamy to bite, about 3 hours.

Nutrition
Per serving : 306 Calories; 10 g Fat; 4 g Sat; 2 g Mono; 20 mg Cholesterol; 40 g Carbohydrates; 18 g Protein; 13 g Fiber; 415 mg Sodium; 735 mg Potassium

2 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 2 starch, 2 1/2 vegetable, 1 medium-fat protein, 1 fat


Tips & Notes
Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. | Equipment: 5- to 6-quart slow cooker
Ingredient notes: Chipotle peppers are dried, smoked jalapeño peppers. Ground chipotle chile pepper can be found in the specialty spice section of most supermarkets. Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce are smoked jalapeños packed in a flavorful sauce. Look for the small cans with the Mexican foods in large supermarkets. Once opened, they'll keep up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.
Tomatillos are tart, plum-size green fruits that look like small, husk-covered green tomatoes. Find them in the produce section near the tomatoes. Remove the outer husk and rinse them well before using.

[heavy hedonist]

Oooh. Sounds good, if a little expensive. Yum.

[bobmark226]

Originally Posted by heavy hedonist

Oooh. Sounds good, if a little expensive. Yum.

Not here it isn't. Sliced mushrooms are on sale, 2/$4 (16 oz. total) all the time and black beans are a little over a buck a bag.

You don't have to use morels and Rancho Gordo, Mari!

Bob

[heavy hedonist]

Originally Posted by bobmark226

Not here it isn't. Sliced mushrooms are on sale, 2/$4 (16 oz. total) all the time and black beans are a little over a buck a bag.

You don't have to use morels and Rancho Gordo, Mari!
Bob

Haha! But, I was thinking more of the cilantro, limes, and tomatillos-- not cheap anywhere here. Especially in the cold months.

[SusanMac]

I've never tried tomatillos in a chili recipe. Sounds yummy!

[SusanL]

Wait a minute... the cardamon seeds were $12.95 a jar!!!! I passed on them and substituted. That is where the $ would have been. I agree with Bob about the prices of the mushrooms and beans, he was right on the mark (no pun intended). That is what I paid for the mushrooms and the dried beans that I ran out of time to use ~, my original intention was to make it from dried beans, but I was lucky enough to have the canned in the pantry. Tomatillos were $1.05, haven't purchased them lately so I don't know if that price was exceptional. For 8 oz?? We really enjoyed the recipe. (Now back to the spaghetti sauce this week!)

[Kristal]

Hi,

I have a question about the tomatillos in this recipe. Do they cook down to the point they are kind of invisible, texture-wise? My husband doesn't care for the texture of them, but if they melt down, I'm thinking he might not notice. I suppose I could always leave them out or put in a little salsa verde instead.

Thanks for the input. This has been in my to-try file since it first came out and I completely forgot about it until I logged in today (after a very long absence. Hi everyone! )

[bobmark226]

Originally Posted by heavy hedonist

Haha! But, I was thinking more of the cilantro, limes, and tomatillos-- not cheap anywhere here. Especially in the cold months.

The worst limes have gotten here is three for $2, but generally we're at 30-50 cents. I'm lucky with tomatillos too, good sources, one right around the corner and not pricey. I'm not sure you couldn't substitute some green salsa without taking anything away from it. I'd be leaving the cilantro out.

I've got plenty of cardamon from the 660 Curries era.

Still, given that the beans are the central ingredient, as opposed to meat, I'd think prices would balance out.

Speaking of black beans, you should check out Kim's (Kwormann) blog. She made and loved a black bean soup she put up there. I was "ugh, another black bean soup!" but as soon as I read the recipe, I knew I needed to give it a try because it sounded so different and so good:

Zen Kitchen

Pardon the sidetrack, btw!


Bob

[SusanL]

Kristal- DH didn't notice the tomatillos, or he would have made a comment. He really like this recipe and asked me to try it with dried beans ! Coming from a man who thought that any mushrooms were gross, this was a compliment. I didn't even tell him about the tomatillos, so I think if you cut them up small enough, he shouldn't notice as well. I wouldn't delete them from the recipe.
Bob Jealous of your cardamon stash! I will check out Kim's recipe this afternoon. She is quite the "chef"!!

[lantana]

Thanks for posting this recipe and your review! It's going onto the shopping list right now. I have a bunch of cardamom pods stored in the freezer. I am sure it was not terribly expensive. I often get spices in small quantities from the bulk section of the specialty grocery (Whole Foods or Central Market). That is usually the best value in the store for me.

[Kristal]

Thanks for the feedback, Susan. I will try this soon.

[Valerie226]

Made this the other day to not exactly rave reviews. We thought it was OK but not a repeater.
I cooked beans cause I had time. I thought the mustard seed flavor was very noticeable and didn't care much for it. I used less than the amount specified too. the tomatillos disappeared completely.. no texture issues. so an OK dinner but that was it for us.

[miss piggy]

Am enjoying leftovers now. My husband and I both love this dish...thanks for posting. Tried to make in our combo rice cooker/slow cooker but after 8 house beans were rock hard so I had to use the stovertop afterwards with a lot of stock. I think this has a "mole" like taste to it from the earthy mushrooms and the chipotles. Love it and will repeat...thanks!

[Natasha]

I've made a modified version of this before, before I had my slow cooker. We really enjoyed it. Thanks for the reminder!