Black Bean Chili

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Hearty black bean chili unites a myriad of Mexican flavors in a bowl. But too often, black bean chili turns out dull and unremarkable. For a complexly flavored chili full of tender and well-seasoned beans, we started with dried beans. As we found that soaking the beans overnight was unnecessary; some of the unsoaked beans burst during cooking, resulting in a thicker chili. Crushed tomatoes (added partway through cooking so that their acidity didn’t toughen or discolor the beans) provided a bit of tartness. Some coarsely chopped mushrooms added meaty depth without giving themselves away, while garlic, chili powder, bay leaves, and cumin further rounded out the flavor of the chili. Minced chipotle added depth and smokiness, and a surprising ingredient—mustard seeds—created a new level of complexity. A spritz of lime and a sprinkling of minced cilantro finished our chili with fresh, bright notes. We strongly prefer the texture and flavor of mustard seeds and cumin seeds in this chili; however, ground spices can be substituted for the seeds by adding ½ teaspoon ground cumin and/or ½ teaspoon dry mustard to the pot with the chili powder in step 3. Serve with your favorite chili toppings.

Serves 6 to 8

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound white mushrooms, trimmed and broken into rough pieces
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 9 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 2½ cups vegetable broth
• 2½ cups water, plus extra as needed
• 1 pound (2½ cups) dried black beans, picked over and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ½-inch pieces
• ½ cup minced fresh cilantro
• Salt and pepper
• Lime wedges

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Pulse mushrooms in food processor until uniformly coarsely chopped, about 10 pulses; set aside.
2. Toast mustard seeds and cumin seeds in Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in oil, onion, and processed mushrooms, cover, and cook until vegetables release liquid, about 5 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until liquid has evaporated and vegetables are browned, 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Stir in garlic and chipotle and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in chili powder and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute (do not let mixture burn). Stir in broth, water, beans, sugar, bay leaves, and baking soda and bring to simmer, skimming foam from surface as needed. Cover, transfer pot to oven, and cook for 1 hour.
4. Stir in tomatoes and bell peppers, cover, and continue to cook in oven until beans are fully tender, about 1 hour longer. (If chili begins to stick to bottom of pot or looks too thick, stir in extra water as needed.)
5. Remove pot from oven and discard bay leaves. Stir in cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with lime wedges.