Written by Elizabeth
Chile is one of those meals that is just plain soul-satisfying. It’s hearty and if made with that intent, is also healthy. It has a balance of protein and carbs, filled with flavor from spices, herbs, and vegetable components. This isn’t a dish for anyone following our weight management portion of our program but perfect for those who are transitioning or maintaining. Even then, we aren’t serving this with rice or polenta but a nice crisp green salad would be great! As my search provided me with what I was looking for flavor-wise and healthy ingredients, I didn’t want it to be a hot kitchen experiment. I wanted to use my Instant Pot. I began cross-referencing books until I came up with a blend of recipes for flavor and technique and boiled it down to this compilation.
The “quick” method for beans is standard knowledge, but the added salt makes it brine and keeps the beans intact during the cooking process. Doing it in the Instant Pot takes just minutes to come to a boil then it gets shut off and sits for an hour, drained and rinsed. If you aren’t ready to cook with them just yet, put them on hold in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours. Now to the store… look for a reasonable cut of beef that has flavor, is lower in fat, high in flavor, and lower price tag. The chuck eye is the perfect cut of meat, I love it as a steak and as a roast, it’s flavorful and trimmable for a lean cut. I found a 4-pound specimen that was under $4 a pound.
Pulling the ingredients together is next. To get the meat ready I trimmed the roast of “silver skin,” the connective tissue that keeps the muscles attached. It’s sinewy and tough and even though we are cooking the daylights out of it, I prefer it not to be there. I removed the excess fat and cut it across the grain and into ½-¾ inch cubes. Set it aside now and I turn to the spices. I combined the dried chilis with the other spices in a food processor, including the 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder, and spun them until they became powdery. If you are sensitive, drape a towel over the chute of the processor as the pepper will become airborne to some degree. I let it sit until it settled a bit then opened the lid and added ½ cup of the stock to the bowl to turn this “mole” into a paste before transferring the contents into the pot. Add onion to the bowl of the FP, chop, add jalapenos, chop or combine. Add this and the remaining ingredients to the pot, then brown the beef in batches. Add the remainder of the stock or lager if you are using it, to the pot along with the beef and beans, seal it and set it to “stew” or whatever the closest thing to it is on your appliance. Don’t walk completely away until you are sure the pot reaches temp and the pressure seal sets. You should see some part of the pin rise to visible, and the hissing stops. I let it release naturally, which means when you can open the lid without releasing the pressure with the knob.
The finishing touches are all that are left! I served it with shredded cheddar cheese, low-fat sour cream, lime wedges, guacamole, and scallion rings. Of course, a form of rice is traditional, but we omitted it for the lower-carb option.
For a tutorial on our “ancient grain in the Instant Pot” check out the blog Joe posted.
I hope you enjoy it and I’d love to hear from you!
Ingredients:
8 oz pinto beans
Salt
4-6 dried ancho chili (dried poblano, sub guajillo)
2-4 dried arbol chilies (bird beak chili) Caution: HOT
Carefully seed, stem and break into pieces. Wear gloves or wash your hands right away.
3 Tablespoons cornmeal
2 teaspoons dry oregano, cumin, and cocoa powder
2 ½ cup stock
2 onions quartered
3 small jalapenos cleaned and chopped or 3 tablespoons canned
4-6 garlic cloves
14.5 oz can of diced tomato
2 teaspoons brown sugar
12 lager beer or sub more stock
Brought to you by RxHealthyHabits
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