Lamb and Black Bean Chili In Red WIne

As a kid, I always hated Chili. Until my Mom went on a diet. While reading through Cooking Light she came across a low fat recipe of stewing lamb and black beans in red wine and chili powder. My Mom's regular chili was always stuffed with huge gross mealy kidney beans, which I could not stomach. Kidney beans remain one of the few foods I never grew out of disliking. When she served us the new chili recipe, I LOVED it. I guess as a kid I thought kidney beans were what all beans tasted like, and I was surprised by how good the black beans were. This new chili had a thin tart broth with a rich lamb flavor so different from the thick gooey beany chili I hated.



When planning the courses for my supper club events, I always try to pick dishes which fit within the Forkable mindset of dressed up comfort food, made fast and cheap. Because in the cold winter weather, a bowl of hot chili is so relaxing, I thought chili would be a good theme for the next event. The lamb chili immediately popped into my head first because the of the more sophisticated ingredients, the simple and easy recipe and the total comfort and pleasure given from eating this dish.




Lamb and Black Bean Chili

• 1 1/2 lb ground lamb
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
• 1 c. dry red wine
• 1 Tbs chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3 15 oz. cans black beans, drained
• salt to taste
• hot sauce to taste

In cooking pot, saute lamb, onion and garlic.

Add tomatoes, red wine, and seasonings up to sugar and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for 2 hours.



Add black beans and allow to simmer for 30 more minutes.

Season with salt and hot sauce to taste. Done! Garnish with cilantro and fresh jalapenos.



Nutritional Information
Calories: 293 (22% from fat)
Fat: 7.2g (sat 2.4g,mono 2.8g,poly 0.8g)
Protein: 28.5g
Carbohydrate: 29.9g
Fiber: 4.6g
Cholesterol: 61mg
Iron: 4.3mg
Sodium: 400mg
Calcium: 90mg

Courtesy of: Cooking Light, APRIL 1997

**Murphy's Law of event planning is something always goes wrong. After preparing my lamb stew, I realized the lamb I had gotten was not particularly flavorful enough. The chili lacked the depth of flavor I wanted. I had some lamb bones in the freezer from a leg of lamb. I drained some liquid out of the chili and boiled it for an hour or two with the bones, to increase the flavor. This is the first time I've ever had to augment the flavor to the recipe, but it was a relatively painless fix.

Left Over Remix: Tortilla Pie

I always seem to have tortillas in the refrigerator left over from taco night. We love a tacos or burritos for a quick dinner on a weeknight, but between Ira and I, we don't really finish up the whole package in one night. The tortillas get pushed to the back of the fridge and then I remember them days later, sad and stale.



A while back, my Mom suggested Martha Stewart Recipe for a tortilla pie as a good way to use up stale tortillas. Its also made primarily of ingredients I generally have on hand so I don't have to worry about getting anything special. Easy and fast. Fun to eat. Its a good thing. Oh shit. That's copyrighted. Its a good food object.

Tortilla and Black Bean Pie

• flour tortillas
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno, chopped and seeded
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• Salt and Pepper to taste
  
• 1 32 oz can black beans, drained
• 12 ounces beer or 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
• 2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (8 ounces)

Using a paring knife, trim tortillas to fit a 9-inch spring form pan, using the bottom of the pan as a guide. Here I had large Burrito tortillas, so one was enough for each layer. Smaller tortillas can also be used, just overlap them and trim using the bottom of your spring form pan as you would with the larger.



If you don't have a spring form pan, you could probably use a pie pan or even a cast iron, but the shape of your pie might not be as nice or as easy to cut and get out, but it will work. However, this pie would probably look awesome in a cast iron pan. Use bottom of your pie or cast iron pan as a guide.

Saute the onion, garlic and cumin in oil over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes.



Add beans and beer to skillet, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes.



Beer? Fancy that, I just happen to have some lying around; another perfect excuse to use up that Budweiser!



Stir in corn and scallions, and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Fit a trimmed tortilla in bottom of spring form pan; layer with 1/4 of the beans and 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat three times, using 1 cup cheese on top layer.

Bake @ 400 degrees until hot and cheese is melted, 20 to 25 minutes. If you used a springform pan, remove the side mold. Garnish with extra scallions and sour cream. Cilantro is also nice. I cooked a side dish of rice made with salsa verde and coconut milk as a side dish. Yum.



**A quick note: The last time I made this, I noticed the tortillas tasted a bit mushy. I made a note to toast the tortillas over my burner before assembling. This may give it a more crispy texture, perhaps. It will give it a little more smoky flavor too probably.