It all started when Lauren and I were at Henry’s market, picking up some groceries for the meals we had decided on for the week. Everything was going as planned, and we found exactly what we needed, but we were in for a real treat that day. Yams, Garnet Yams, were on sale, and boy were they ginormous! Lauren and I look at them, wide-eyed, and start laughing. Although we didn’t have a recipe for Yam the Gigantor yet, we couldn’t pass up purchasing such an odd looking growth. Now that I think about it, I really should have taken a separate photo of Yam the Gigantor, whoopsies.

An extra squeeze of lime is an excellent option

Since we were in a soupy kind of mood and we found a copious amount of black bean and sweet potato recipes, we ran in that direction. Here was the dilemma: we had a yam not a sweet potato. Naturally, I got curious and set off on an expedition to clear up the confusion, which meant that I went straight to the source: Wikipedia (don’t judge). After learning about the difference between the two similar-looking vegetables, I decided that Yam the Gigantor would be an even better addition to the black bean and chipotle chili soup. A little curiosity pays off…sometimes. Here’s the scoop:

INGREDIENTS 

Yam the Gigantor is on the
right, but please note that the biggest part of his bod
wouldn’t fit in the frame.

• Olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
• 1-2 jalapeños, minced & seeded (unless
  you want your mouth to burst into flames)
• 2 chipotles in adobo, finely chopped (plus 1 Tbsp of the adobo sauce)
• 1 Yam the Gigantor, peeled and diced into small cubes
• 4 cups (3 cans) canned black beans
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1-2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 2 bay leaves
• Juice of 1-2 limes (we always love to use extra)
• Salt & peppeh to taste
• 4-5 scallions, chopped
• 1 small bunch of cilantro, chopped

DIRECTIONS :

You can either throw all ingredients into the CrockPot for a few hours on High, or you can cook in a pot on the stove. We did a little of each to get the best of both worlds. In medium skillet, heat some olive oil, add onion and cook for a few minutes, until translucent. Add garlic, jalapeños, and chipotles with adobo and cook for 2-3 more minutes.

Throw onion/chili mixture into the Crockpot and turn on high. Add yams, black beans, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper and stir together. Then, cover with vegetable broth and nestle the bay leaves into the middle. Let cook  on high for around 2 hours, or until yams are tender, stirring occasionally to make sure they are cooking evenly.

Whip out your immersion blender (if you don’t have one, well, get one! We just did and it is a kitchen essential!) and blend until desired texture is achieved. We left it a little bit on the chunky side.

Add lime juice, salt and pepper to taste. Stir in scallions and cilantro. Dish up into bowls and serve with the option of more hot sauce! (Since we had company over for dinner there weren’t as many leftovers as we had hoped, so I guess this means we will be making this dish again soon!
Little Yellow Note: We stirred in some yogurt to the small amount of leftovers and whad’ya know, it doubled as bean dip!

From the Little Yellow Kitchen

–Chrissy