SWEET POTATO AND BLACK BEAN STEW WITH POLENTA CAKES

I found this recipe in my December/January issue of Readymade Magazine. The moment I saw it, I knew I would love it. I just had no idea how much. So I just got around to making it and let me say "Holy Crap, this is good!" and "How come I never thought of this before?" This stew is spicy and sweet with a touch of tangy. It's the perfect thing to warm and excite you during these long winter months. I added some fried polenta cakes to add some texture and carbs, but feel free to just make this awesome stew.


Ingredients:

olive oil
2 sweet potatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups veggie stock
14.5 oz can of black beans
14.5 oz can dices tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup polenta
salt & pepper to taste
butter

Directions:

1. Prepare the Polenta according to the package instructions. While it's cooking, butter a muffin pan. Once the Polenta is creamy, fill the muffin pan with the Polenta, making each one even. You can do this a day ahead and keep in the fridge overnight or stick it in the freezer so they'll be ready for frying when the stew is done.

2. Coat a large, heavy bottomed pot with olive oil. Add sweet potatoes, onion, red pepper, jalapeno, and garlic. Saute on high until the onion and peppers are soft.

3. Add chili powder, cumin and cayenne pepper. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pot until the sweet potatoes are fork tender.

4. Add the stock, black beans and tomatoes. Bring it to a boil, stirring well and scraping the bottom of the pot to pick up all the spices.

5. Add the corn, reduce to a simmer and cook for another 15 minutes. Taste the stew and adjust salt and spice if you need to.

6. During those 15 minutes, you can fry your polenta cakes. Heat a generous amount of oil in a frying pan, about 1/4 inch deep. Fry the polenta cakes until they are crispy and browned on both sides. Set on paper towels to drain and sprinkle a little cheese on top of each before they start to cool. You can even put cheese on the Polenta cakes while they finish frying to increase the likelihood the cheese will melt.

7. Ladle the stew into bowls, top with cilantro, lime juice and your Polenta cakes. Enjoy!


**Image by ReadyMade**