2015 Chili Accessory #2: Refried White Beans

Okay, I only have one photo for this aspect of our 2015 white chili, so I'm going big! The shame of it is, these refried white beans were my favorite aspect of that award-winning chili (okay, maybe my second favorite due to the involvement of queso).

When "researching" a green chili in Colorado, both Jesse and I loved the involvement of refried beans. It added a great texture and creaminess to the chili. So I went about researching, then tweaking, a refried white bean recipe to use in our chili. I ended up liking this recipe so much on its own that I made some extra to have on-hand to give vegetarian's something to sample. We had multiple people come back and ask for more, so I suppose it wasn't just me!

Ingredients:

2 15oz. can of cannellini beans, drained with liquid reserved and rinsed

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 large shallot, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

2 teaspoons of bbq seasoning

Pinch ghost pepper flakes (or more than a pinch of red pepper flakes)

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Pinch of salt (to taste)

Butter or bacon grease for refrying process (we use around 1.5 tablespoons)

Steps:

1. Heat a small skillet over medium high heat and saute oil and shallots together for 1-2 minutes.

2. Add garlic for 30 seconds.

3. Add spices and salt and continue to saute for another 30 seconds.

4. Add brown sugar and cook for another 30-45 seconds until sugar starts to melt and caramelize.

5. Remove from heat and add to the bowl with the drained beans, mixing together

6. Heat butter/bacon grease and add bean mixture (low heat)

7. Using a fork or a potato masher, mash beans and shallot mixture in butter until combined.

8. Add in 2 tablespoons of the reserved liquid to help mash further and smooth out the beans with potato masher or immersion blender (add more liquid if you want the beans creamier/smoother)

9. Finish by seasoning with salt, pepper, etc to taste

#chili #accessories #vegetarian