Chilli was something we had quite a lot at home when I was growing up, but they were nothing like this one! I did very much enjoy my mum’s chilli, but I wanted to do a different take on it and add some more ingredients.
Dean has always said chilli is boring! I have to disagree on that one – chilli can be an amazing meal if made well. He likes variety when it comes to food, so chilli has to come with some of the extras in our house – add in guacamole, sour cream, rice or tacos and he is happy!
Dark chocolate is something I’ve recently gotten into and have been reading and researching about its benefits. It’s actually very good for you, when you eat it little and often (not a whole bar a day it’s all about moderation!). Dark chocolate has a lot of nutrients if you buy good quality with a high cocoa content. It contains a decent amount of soluble fibre and is loaded with minerals.
It may improve blood flow and lower blood pressure plus consuming dark chocolate can improve several important factors of heart disease. But of course this doesn’t mean we should all go out and eat lots of chocolate every day, it’s still got calories and is easy to over eat on. Maybe have a square or two after dinner or in this case add it to the meal itself. To get the benefits of eating dark chocolate you need to choose quality organic chocolate with 70% or higher cocoa content. Dark chocolate will often contain some sugar but the amount is usually very small. The general rule of thumb is the darker the chocolate the less sugar it will contain and the less of it you need to be satisfied.
So what better a way to add chocolate to your tea time meal than to add a few squares to your chilli! The taste of the chocolate is very mild but it adds great flavours along with depth and colour. I would definitely recommend trying it!
Chocolate Chilli Con Carne
Ingredients
- 750 g lean beef mince 5% less fat
- 6 pieces dark cooking chocolate good quality 70% cocoa (I use Green and Black’s)
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 red pepper chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp hot chilli powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 4 medium fresh sweet vine tomatoes chopped
- 400 g tinned tomatoes
- 5 medium mushrooms chopped in to cubes
- 1 large fresh red chilli chopped
- 1 handful fresh coriander
- 395 g mixed beans
- 2 oxo cubes
Instructions
- Add a small amount of oil to a large saucepan to stop the mince from sticking. Place the mince into the pan and cook on a medium heat until brown.
- Add the garlic and onion then cook until the onions are soft. Add the cumin, hot chilli powder, oregano and tomato puree to the mince then stir, making sure to coat it all.
- Add the peppers and tomatoes to the pan then cook for another 2 minutes and keep stirring. Add the tinned tomatoes and mushroom then turn the heat right down while you prepare your oxo stock. Crumble one oxo in to a jug with 100ml of boiling water, stir and add to the chilli mixture. Crumble the other oxo cube into the mixture and carefully stir as you will have quite a bit of liquid.
- Turn the heat back up on a medium heat and add the chocolate, stir carefully then watch the chocolate melt in to the chilli mixture. The chilli will start to darken. Add the fresh chilli then cover and simmer for half an hour.
- Check your chilli and give it a good stir. Have a taste and season with salt and pepper if desired. Add more chilli powder if you would like your chilli any hotter. Chop some fresh coriander and add to the pan. Add the mixed beans, stirring in well. Leave with the lid off turning up the heat if you would like to reduce some of the sauce for about 10-15 minutes.
- Serve with rice, nachos, tacos or fajita – whatever takes your fancy! Also great with extras such as guacamole and sour cream. Enjoy!
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