The Munchies Blog

Today, I decided to try a variation of my normal chili recipe. This chili is supposed to be soup-like in consistency. It turned out quite nice, just a wee bit too hot. I added hot paprika powder in addition to the spices mentioned, and I think that was a mistake.

Several pages on the Internet mention the use of bittersweet chocolate or unsweetened cocoa powder in chili con carne, so I decided to try that as well. I don’t think the taste is really noticeable in this quantity (might use more next time), but at least I didn’t have any problems getting the chili to taste really nice this time.

About 4-6 servings

• 250g minced beef (soy protein probably works as well)
• 1 capsicum (a.k.a. bell pepper or paprika) — I used a yellow one, but that shouldn’t make a difference
• 1-2 chili peppers — I used a green one
• 1 large red onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1-2 tsp vegetable stock powder
• 500 ml puréed tomatos
• ca. 750 ml (hot) water
• 1 can of kidney beans
• 1 small can of corn (optional — drain and add together with the spices)
• spices to taste (I used salt, pepper, cumin, sweet paprika, cayenne pepper, 2 small dried chopped chilis, allspice, cinnamon, thyme and 1/2 tsp of unsweetened cocoa powder)
• 1 tsp semolina

Wash, cut and seed the capsicum and the chili pepper(s). Peel the onion and cut in half rings. Peel the garlic.

Heat a tablespoon of butter in a medium-sized saucepan on medium heat. Throw in the minced meat. Stir the meat so that it doesn’t clump together. When the meat is done, add the onion and the pressed garlic. Stir and fry this for a few more minutes until the onions start to become transparent. Throw in the capsicum and chili pepper(s), and again stir and fry for a few more minutes.

Add the water, stock powder and puréed tomatos and stir well. When the chili is boiling, turn down the heat a bit and add the spices, then let the chili simmer for some 5-10 minutes. In the meantime, drain and wash the beans. Don’t hurt yourself with the can opener. When the chili has simmered for some 5-10 minutes, add the beans.

Wait some 5 more minutes and add the semolina. This is not strictly necessary, but it does give the chili a nicer consistency. This is also a good time to sample the chili and add any missing spices. Let simmer for some 5 more minutes.

Serve with sour cream, crème fraîche or yoghurt for those who don’t like their chili too hot and with slices of white bread (for example ciabatta, baguette or pide).

(Don’t know what the “Part II” is about? Go and read Part I.) The original recipe uses

• 400g good quality dark chocolate,
• 20cl whipping cream and
• 40g butter.

I decided to use half the amount of chocolate and went for a large (250g) bar of Rausch Amazonas (60% cocoa solids) minus some six pieces. I then followed the recipe, breaking the chocolate apart (I was lazy and only broke off the pieces, which I regretted later because the chocolate took quite long to melt), bringing the cream (30% fat whipping cream) almost to a boil, pouring the cream over the chocolate and finally mixing in the diced butter.

I used crushed butter cookies (Butterkeks), chocolate granules (Schokostreusel, like these), unsweetened cocoa powder and icing sugar (Puderzucker) for the toppings.

As mentioned in Part I, I used cayenne pepper, cinnamon, a sweet masala mixture from the organic supermarket, vanilla and salt (fleur de sel, to be exact) for flavouring the ganache itself. I can’t really say anything about the amounts I used; it was pretty much “use what feels right”.

And here’s the summary:
I think the truffles would be nicer with slightly less dark chocolate. Next time I’ll try Rausch Santo Domingo with 55% cocoa solids.

Toppings:

Flavorings: