| CATEGORY |
CUISINE |
TAG |
YIELD |
| Grains, Meats, Vegetables, Dairy |
Cuban |
|
1 |
Servings |
INGREDIENTS
| 1 1/2 |
c |
Dried black beans (about 10 ounces), picked over and rinsed |
| 4 |
md |
Poblano chiles |
| 4 |
md |
Cubanelle chiles (Italian frying peppers) (see notes) |
| 3 |
md |
Green bell peppers |
| 1 |
md |
Haban~ero chile (see notes) |
| 1 |
lb |
Fresh spinach; stemmed |
| 10 |
md |
Tomatillos – husked; rinsed and quartered |
| 5 |
|
Scallions; coarsely chopped |
| 1 |
|
Meaty smoked ham hock (about 1 pound) |
| 2 |
|
Bay leaves |
| 3 |
tb |
Vegetable oil |
| 2 |
lb |
Trimmed boneless pork shoulder or butt, cut into 1-inch cubes |
|
|
Salt and freshly ground black pepper |
| 1 |
md |
White onion; finely chopped |
| 6 |
|
Garlic cloves; minced |
| 1 |
tb |
Sugar |
| 1 |
tb |
Ground cumin |
| 1 |
c |
Finely chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro) |
|
|
Tortilla chips or corn bread and sour cream, for serving |
INSTRUCTIONS
"Food & Wine," March, 1994, pp. 72-74
1. Place the black beans in a medium saucepan and add 6 cups of water.
Bring to a boil over moderately high heat and boil for 3 minutes. Remove
from the heat and let stand for 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, roast the poblanos, cubanelles, bell peppers and haban~ero
under the broiler or over a gas flame (see notes), turning frequently,
until blackened all over. Transfer them to a paper bag and let steam for 10
minutes. Peel the chiles and peppers under running water and remove the
cores, seeds and ribs. Drain and pat dry. Place them all in a food
processor or blender with the spinach, tomatillos and scallions and puree
until smooth (see notes).
3. Drain the black beans and return them to the saucepan. Add the ham hock,
bay leaves and 6 more cups of water. Bring to a boil over moderately high
heat. Cover and simmer over low heat until the beans are tender, about 1.5
hours. Drain the beans, reserving 1 cup of the liquid; discard the bay
leaves. Remove the meat from the ham hock, cut it into 3/4 inch pieces and
set aside (see notes).
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large enameled cast-iron casserole.
Season the pork cubes with salt and black pepper. Add some of the meat to
the casserole in a single layer and cook over high heat until well browned
all over, about 5 minutes. Transfer the cooked pork to a plate and brown
the remaining meat in batches.
5. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the casserole. Add the onion and
garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until
translucent, about 3 minutes.
6. Return the browned pork to the casserole with the chile and spinach
puree, sugar, cumin and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over moderately
high heat. Lower the heat and simmer gently until the meat is very tender,
about 2 hours. Stir in the black beans and cubed ham with the reserved
cooking liquid. (The chili can be prepared up to 3 days ahead; cover and
refrigerate. Rewarm slowly over moderate heat.)
7. Season the chili with the corainder and salt. Spoon the chili into bowls
and serve with tortilla chips and sour cream.
Notes from Tony and Gloria:
1. Allow a full day to make this recipe; it's a lot of work. However, note
that the beans don't have to be soaked overnight so you can start and
finish the entire job in one day. This chili is unique in my experience,
but quite delicious and worth the effort.
2. As it stands, this is not a very hot recipe. Chile-heads should adjust
the quantity of haban~ero to suit individual taste. We used three ripe
Fresno chiles instead of the haban~ero; it was tangy, but not very hot.
3. Ah, the elusive cubanelle. We used "biscene" peppers obtained at a local
farmers market. Others have convinced
continued in part 2
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