Hot Damn & Hell Yeah's Black Bean Chilli

Rocket & Roses HQ Play List:

Foo Fighters ~ Lonely As You
Thunder ~ Another Shot Of Love (Live)
Nickelback ~ Just To Get High
The Smiths ~ Rush and A Push The Land Is Ours
Sandi Thom ft Joe Bonamassa ~ This Ol' World
Holly Williams ~ Three Days In Bed
Escala ft Slash ~ Kashmir
Heart ~ I Don't Want to Need You
Rod Stewart ~ Ruby Tuesday
Them Crooked Vultures ~ No One Loves Me & Neither Do I
Rage Against The Machine ~ Bullet In The Head
Buckcherry ~ Air
Sinatra ~ Moon River
Shakira ~ Un Poco De Amor 

Sometimes I despair at the dish that is vegetable chilli and I am fairly certain I have written about this before. You know the chilli...watery, veggies not cooked enough and zero heat. How people have the cheek to call them a chilli is amazing to me. Surely they are veggie stews at best? lol. Sometimes I crave a chilli...and if there are going to be veggies they have to be cooked but I also prefer mine to have a good amount of bean in it. I also like to feel like I've eaten the spicy dish..you know..that hint of glow around your lips. I'm not a heat junkie like some people I know and love. I don't like a chilli or curry that makes me go into melt down or drink endless amounts of water with it. A healthy heat of a glow is my preference...lol.

I picked up my copy of Hot Damn! And Hell Yeah! quite a few years ago now. And blimey, have I enjoyed it. It's certainly an interesting cookbook and has some great recipes. I've wanted to try this chilli for a while as I love black beans and all the health benefits they provide are just a bonus. My craving kicked in for chilli and I knew instantly which one I was going to try. Hot Damn...I was gonna have me some black bean chilli! lol

Making this chilli is easy. The recipe is straightforward and once everything is in the pan, its a matter of leaving it to simmer away. And at the end of that time you are left with a great thick, beany and rich red chilli.

This chilli hit every one of my needs. It was rich, spicy, beany, intense and the veggies were cooked perfectly and the beans were so good. I served mine with a little brown rice and some steamed side veggies. My recipe books are covered with scribbled notes and scores...and this baby got the full 10/10! Yes..that good. 

Black Bean Chilli

 

Black Bean Chilli    Serves 4 
(Recipe from Hot Damn! Hell Yeah!/Splint)

1 tbsp oil 
1 onion, chopped 
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
3 cups cooked black beans 
2 cans tinned chopped tomatoes
1 cup water
1-3 tbsp tbsp chilli powder (I used 3 tsp of Hot! chilli powder)
1 tsp ground cumin 
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 
1/2 tsp brown sugar (I omitted this) 
1/4 tsp salt 
1/4 tsp black pepper 
fresh cilantro/coriander or spring/green onions, chopped

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and green pepper and saute until the onion is translucent. Stir in the chilli powder, cumin, oregano and cinnamon, cooking until mixed and absorbed. 

Add the chopped tomatoes and water, then bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent burning to bottom of the pan. Add beans, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir well and return it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring to prevent and scorchin'. Serve garnished with cilantro or green onions. 

Enjoy! 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your Friday has been a great one...

~Red~ 

NB: This is not my recipe and therefore I take no credit for it. It is the hard work and creative talent of Ryan Splint. ~R~   

Enchiladas

Quite simply, this recipe is awesome. My Love is a big fan of spicy food in all its various forms. So four years ago, I topped up an online order with this cheap little cookbook Hot Damn and Hell Yeahby Ryan Splint. It turned up and got thumbed through and then added to my vast collection of cookbooks. And there it stayed. Then a friend had a birthday gathering here recently and for some reason I decided on a Mexican theme for the food and down came this cookbook. I made many things from Guacamole to Spiced Ice Cream and Apple Pie. But the one recipe that stood out above all others was the Enchiladas. 

Today  I was joined by another pal, C,  who came for a catch up and to share a meal with me. And I cooked the Enchiladas for us as we chatted. She said it was such a shame there wasn't such a thing as smellyvision because the smell of the Enchiladas cooking, was really good. So with a large salad to go with them, we tucked in and caught up. It was a lovely way to spend a few hours. 

Enchiladas Serves 4 
(Recipe from Hot Damn and Hell Yeah by Ryan Splint)

4 wholemeal tortillas or tortillas of your choice
1 mix of buritto filling, recipe below
1 mix of Mexican chilli gravy, recipe below
1 cup of  grated super melting soya cheeze

Buritto Filling

1 cup of textured vegetable protein granules, dry
2 cups of boiling water
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tsp Paprika
2 tsp Chilli powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce - vegan
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tin of Black Eyed Peas, rinsed and drained

Combine the TVP with 1 cup of the boiling water in a small bowl and set aside.

Saute the onion and garlic in the oil for 5 minutes then add the bell pepper and cook for a few minutes more.

Add the remaining ingredients, including the TVP and the extra cup of water, mix well and bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the liquid reduces and it thickens. Set to one side.

Mexican Chilli Gravy

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup of chopped onion
2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
6 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cups veggie stock

Cook the onion in the oil in a saucepan until its translucent.

Mix the spices and flour together and stir in well with the onions, making sure there's no lumps.

Mix the tomato paste with the stock and pour it into the saucepan.

Mix well and bring to the boil. Let it boil for a few minutes, stirring to prevent clumps or scorching. Set aside.

Assembly:

Take a quarter of the filling and spread it down the centre of a tortilla. Fold over the sides and then roll up the buritto. Then place in a square ovenproof dish. Repeat this three more times.

When the burittos are all in the dish, take the gravy and spoon over the burittos. Then sprinkle the grated cheeze over the top. Bake in a preheated oven 180'C/350'F/Gas Mark 4 for 45 minutes.

Serve immediately with a luscious salad.

Happy cooking Red