Chilli con Queso
Ingredients
- 113 g dried red kidney beans (1 cup)
- 1.5 T vegetable oil
- 1/2 c chopped onion
- 1/2 chopped red bell pepper
- 1 cloves minced garlic
- 1/2 fresh chili pepper
- 1 t chili powder (to taste)
- 1 t ground cumin
- 500 mL vegetable broth (2 cups)
- 1/2 t crushed epazote leaves (dried, optional)
- freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- Salt (Sea) (to taste)
- 60 g shredded cheese (to serve)
- cooked rice (to serve)
Method
Place beans in a bowl; cover with water by about 2". Leave to soak overnight (on the counter is fine).
Drain and rinse the beans. In a large saucepan, heat the oil and gently fry the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and fresh chili for about 5 minutes.
Stir in the chili powder and cumin; cook for another minute, then add the beans, broth, epazote (if using), and a grinding of pepper. Don't add salt at this stage.
Boil for 10 minutes, cover and turn down to a gentle simmer. Cook for about 4 hours, checking the water level and adding extra if necessary.
When the beans are tender, season them well with salt. Remove about a quarter of the mixture and mash to a pulp or pass through a food processor.
Return the puree to the pan and stir well. Serve hot with the cheese sprinkled on top. Great with plain long grain rice.
Notes
SJ Note 18 May 2011: Very tasty! The flavor combination is excellent. Needed much longer cooking time, so I've adjusted that here. We forgot to add the sugar (it called for 1/2T), and found the flavor quite excellent, so I've cut it out, I don't think it needs it. We used Red Leicester cheese, as it's one of our favorites and happens to be vegetarian. Definitely a keeper!