Show #413

Recipe By: ©2000 eric villegas
Serving Size: 12

Ingredients:

1 lb. navy beans, picked over, rinsed and soaked overnight in cold water, preferably from Michigan
6 cups cold water , plus 1/2 cup boiling water
1 large pasilla chile, whole
1/4 cup lard
2 large red onions , diced
1/2 cup roasted garlic, puree, see recipe
1 lb. smoked bacon, chopped
3/4 cup maple sugar, preferably from Michigan
1/3 cup tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
1/4 teaspoon cloves, ground
1/4 teaspoon cumin, ground
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika, ground
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili, ground
1 1/4 cups stout beer, preferably from Michigan
3 cups chicken broth, or similar to finish the beans
2 ounces cocoa powder, unsweetened
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoons black pepper, or to taste

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Drain and rinse the beans. In a large saucepan, cover the beans with 6 cups of the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until tender, anywhere from 30 mintues to 1 hour. You want the beans tender but not falling apart.

Meanwhile, soak the chipotle in the 1/2 cup of the boiling water until softened, about 20 minutes. Drain the chipotle. Discard the stem, seeds and water, mince the chile.

Heat the lard in a large heavy bottomed casserole or bean pot. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until softened about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the bacon and cook until softened, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Stir in the minced pasilla, chipotle powder, maple sugar, nutmeg, cloves, cumin, paprika and tomato paste into the bacon and toast the ingredients a bit to intesify the flavors for another 2 to 3 minutes. Top off with the beer and the broth.

Drain the navy beans and add them to the casserole, stir to blend. Cover and place the casserole in the preheated oven until the sauce has thickened, about 1 hour. If you like your beans thicker remove the cover after 30 minutes.

To finish the beans …

Taste the beans and adjust seaonsings, stir in the cocoa powder, season with salt and pepper and serve.