Firestone Lamb & Black Bean Chili by Kate Firestone

This month's recipe, a serious stew-like chili, was contributed by
owner Adam Firestone's wife, Kate Firestone.  You should consider
serving it over a bed of white rice with the avocado salsa described,
sour cream, cilantro, a crunchy green salad, French bread or soft
rolled tortillas and a lemon tart for dessert!  Do this and accompany
it with a pint of Firestone Double Barrel Ale, my friend, and you will
be a happier person ... and most likely quite full too.

4 cups chicken broth
5 oz. dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded
3 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1/4 cup plus 2 TBS olive oil
1  5 lb. leg of lamb, boned & trimmed
2 lg. onions, diced
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
12 ounces of Firestone Double Barrel Ale
1 28 oz. can chopped tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup ground pasilla chili powder
3 TBS ground cumin
5 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed, drained
1/4 cup fresh lime juice

Avocado Salsa:

3 large ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, diced
7 TBS fresh lime juice
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
6 TBS chopped fresh cilantro
3 jalapeno chiles, seeded, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring stock to a boil in heavy medium saucepan.  Remove from heat.
Add ancho chiles.  Cover and let stand until soft, about 30 min.
Transfer ancho chiles and 2 cups stock to processor or blender, add
chipotle chiles and puree the lot of em!  Stir into remaining stock
and set aside.  Heat 1/4 cup oil in large Dutch Oven or covered pot
over high heat and add lamb meat and reserved bones in batches.
Cook until meat is brown about 3 min. per batch.  Transfer to bowl
using slotted spoon.  Add remaining 2 TBS oil to Dutch oven and
saut onions and garlic for 3 min.  Return meat, bones and juices
accumulated in bowl to Dutch oven.  Add your brew and simmer for
10 min.  Have a brew.  Add stock mixture, tomatoes, chili powder
and cumin and simmer until lamb is tender, about 1 hr., 10 min.  Mix
beans and lime juice into chili.  Season with salt and pepper.  Mix all
of your avocado ingredients in a bowl just prior to serving.  Serves 8.

Note:  Lamb bones add flavor to the stock.  Ask the butcher to bone a
Leg of Lamb and cut the bones into 2 inch pieces and the meat into
3/4 inch cubes, leaving off as much fat as possible (unless you're into
that fat thing ... which is okay).