Chocolate Chili Tacos by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

      

November 12, 2024

I made a pot of ground beef chili with the usual ingredients: green and jalapeno peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, a variety of spices and beans (red kidney & black beans). After simmering for about 30 minutes, I tasted it and thought a bit of dark chocolate would meld all these flavors together. And it worked!
Small chunks of dark chocolate (67-72% cacao), melted into the chili, pulled all the flavors together into one ‘happy-on-the-tongue’ melody. My batch of chili was rather thick after chilling it overnight, so I decided that it would make a great taco filling. But feel free to enjoy it as a ‘bowl of chili’, knowing that you may need to thin it out with a bit of broth or water upon re-heating. Also, I garnished with a small handful of Lesser Evil popcorn, for crunch and whimsy. (BTW, Lesser Evil, which we offer at Foodie’s is a fantastic-tasting popcorn!)

Ingredients

1 cup sweet, white or Spanish onions, very finely minced

1 green pepper, washed, dried, deseeded & cut into small dice

1 medium jalapeno pepper, washed, dried de-seeded & finely diced

2-3 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped finely to yield 1 tablespoon garlic

2-3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil, plus more as needed

2 teaspoons chili powder (plus more to taste)

1 teaspoon ground cumin seed

1⁄2 teaspoon ground coriander seed

1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1-pound lean ground beef

pinch of cayenne pepper (amount depends on your taste/tolerance for spicy)

1 can (15.5 ounces) peeled & diced tomatoes

2 ‘tomato cans ‘of water or beef broth

1 can cooked kidney beans, 15 ounces, drained and rinsed

1 cup cooked black beans, 15 ounces, drained and rinsed

Kosher salt to taste

Fresh ground black pepper

1 1⁄2 ounces or 1/3rd cup chopped dark chocolate, about 67-72% cacao

1 package yellow or blue corn tacos, about 12 tacos

Garnishes: 1⁄4 cup slivered scallion greens, handful of popcorn (!), chopped chocolate

Directions

Have the vegetables prepped:

the onions, peppers and garlic have been chopped and set aside.

Grab a heavy-bottomed soup or casserole pot.

Heat over low heat, empty, for a minute and then add 2- 3 tablespoons of the oil you are using. Coat the bottom of the pot. Don’t walk away! When the oil begins to ‘shimmer’ (not smoke!) add the onions and peppers to the pot. Stir. Add a pinch of salt. Lower the heat, cover the pot and let the vegetables “sweat, until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Remove the lid and stir in the garlic and all the spices.

Continue to cook until the spices and garlic have ‘bloomed’...they will begin to release their fragrance. Add the ground beef and sauté, breaking up the beef clumps with a spoon as it cooks. Add a pinch of salt and some black pepper. Add the can of tomatoes, along with 2 ‘tomato cans’ worth of water or beef stock. Add the beans. Bring the batch of chili to a simmer

and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring often. Taste and adjust seasoning to your palate. If you want it spicy, now’s the time to add a pinch of cayenne.

Turn off the heat and add the chopped dark chocolate.

Let cool for 10-15 minutes. Enjoy immediately or continue to cool and refrigerate overnight, and let all the flavors meld together.

Either serve as bowls of chili or as filling for taco shells. Garnish with slivered scallion greens and maybe some popcorn and a bit of extra chopped chocolate.

Yield: filling for 12 taco shells or 4-5 bowls of chili
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30-40 minutes

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