Monday, March 9, 2009

The BEST Chili con Carne

I LOOOOOOVE homemade chili, and though I still think my mom is the master, this recipe is just amazing. And super easy too. It has a surprising secret ingredient - cocoa. I introduced the recipe to my co-worker, Tetiana and at first she was VERY skeptical (Her reaction was, "Chocolate in chili is just disturbing!!") but she has already made it twice since I gave it to her! I think that's a pretty good sign!



Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 red peppers, chopped
500g ground beef (one packet)
3 pickled jalapeno chiles, seeded and finely chopped (2-3 tbsp)
2 tbsp chili powder
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa
1 1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 can tomatoes, chopped
1 can white kidney beans rinsed and drained
Directions
Brown ground beef in a large pot
When cooked through, push the meat to the edges of the pot to create a hole.
Pour olive oil in hole and saute onions and garlic until softened and translucent (5 mins).
Add red pepper and saute until tender crisp (5 mins).
Stir in jalapenos, chili powder, cocoa, salt coriander, oregnao tomatoes with their juice; heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer stirring occasionally until slightly thickened (15-20 mins, though sometimes I like to leave it longer for richer flavour!).
I like to eat this over rice or sprinkled with cheese. If I'm feeling ambitious later, I might just make Mandy's cornbread!

1 comment:

Amanda said...

I can't wait to try the chocolate in it! Its so interesting such opposite flavours match!

Actually, what do you think of this, Pineapple with Spicy Sugar Dip