Black Bean, Chorizo & Sweet Potato Chili

Week two: 28-14. We're 2-0. The defense I spent last winter designing played exactly as designed — four downs is not three, and the fourth-quarter pressure package we installed in camp performed in a real game for the first time exactly the way it performed in practice. This feeling — the coherence of execution and design — is the reason I coach. The schematic idea rendered in real movement by real people. It's beautiful the way a well-made thing is beautiful. You can call it football or you can call it craft. Same thing.

It's September now, which means chile roasting season in Las Cruces is three weeks away. I've been thinking about the drive south the way I think about it every year — with the specific anticipation of someone who needs to be in one place and is currently in another. The Organ Mountains and my parents and the smell of roasting chiles and the routine of peeling in the shade. Last year it was the first roasting without Ruben. This year it's the second. The second year of anything without someone is different from the first — still hard, but differently shaped. You know what to expect. You know you'll make it through.

Made green chile stew Monday for the first time this fall — used the last of last year's frozen Hatch supply, which was down to three bags and which I've been rationing since July. The new supply comes in three weeks. The stew was good with the old supply, as it always is, but there's a specific freshness to stew made with newly roasted chiles that frozen can approximate but not replicate. This is not a complaint. Frozen is still excellent. But new is new. The best chile stew of the year will be made the week after I get back from Las Cruces. It always is.

With the last bags of frozen Hatch chiles already spoken for — rationed into the green chile stew that carried me through Monday — I needed something that could hold its own without leaning on that supply. This black bean, chorizo, and sweet potato chili has the same depth and low-simmer warmth I reach for in September, and the chorizo brings enough smoky heat to remind you that chile season is close, even when it’s still three weeks out. It’s not the stew I’ll make the week I get back from Las Cruces — that one will be the best of the year, it always is — but this one earns its place at the table right now.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb fresh Mexican chorizo, casings removed
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large sweet potato (about 12 oz), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 cans (15 oz each) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
Optional toppings: sour cream, shredded cheese, sliced green onions, pickled jalapeños

Instructions

Brown the chorizo. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 6–8 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chorizo to a plate, leaving the rendered fat in the pot.
Soften the aromatics. Reduce heat to medium. Add the diced onion to the pot and cook in the chorizo fat, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Toast the spices. Add the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and oregano to the pot. Stir constantly for 30–60 seconds to bloom the spices in the fat before adding any liquid.
Build the chili. Return the browned chorizo to the pot. Add the sweet potato cubes, black beans, fire-roasted tomatoes (with their juices), and chicken broth. Stir everything together and bring to a boil.
Simmer until tender. Reduce heat to low, cover partially, and simmer for 25–30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potato is completely tender and the chili has thickened to your liking. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with sour cream, shredded cheese, green onions, or pickled jalapeños as desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Black Bean, Chorizo & Sweet Potato Chili — Holding the Line Until the New Hatch Supply Arrives