sweet-potato chili

This is a quarantine favorite in my house. It can be made vegetarian or with meat, and it can be made hot or sweet.

Par-boil a half-pound of dried beans of any kind for about an hour in a 250 F (120 C) oven (or you can use a can of beans instead). When they are nearly finished, burn a large onion or two medium onions, chopped to bean size, and a large sweet potato, or a couple small ones, chopped to bean size, in olive oil in a pot. If you are going to use spicy sausage, like chorizo, burn it in the pot after the onions. You want to leave some dark burned bits on the bottom of the pot at this stage!

Add a chopped sweet pepper, some chipotle peppers (dried or from a can) if you want it hot, about 1 tbsp of chili powder and about 1/2 tbsp of cumin and about 1 tbsp of salt. Add water to cover, get it to a boil, and then put it in the oven at 250 F (120 C) for an hour. At the end, beat it up a bit with a fork to get the sweet potato to break up and become the body of the stew.

Possible modifications include: Try other kinds of meat, or even try a new plant-based meat alternative. Increase or reduce hot peppers, or use fresh jalapenos. Add tomato paste perhaps? Or maybe tabasco or vinegar for some acid. It's extremely forgiving, and the quantities of everything are up to you.

Serve with sour cream or yoghurt and chopped cilantro. Serves eight-ish.