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One of Our More Unusual Chili Recipes
If you want to try making some unusual chili recipes you might like this fusion dish. Blending Cajun and Mexican flavors, this cocoa and chocolate flavored dish also contains herbs, spices and vegetables, as well as tender beef. If you have tried a cinnamon and cocoa scented Cincinnati style chili, you will find this one similar. Because the flavor of the cocoa is quite apparent, use a good quality cocoa powder and not unsweetened baking chocolate, else it will be bitter unless you balance it out with sugar.
You can use a sirloin tip roast or another type of stewing beef. Baby lima beans are another option if you want to add beans. Serve this delicious beef chili as it is, since it contains potatoes, or with some rice on the side. If you like your chili served with mashed potatoes, leave the potatoes out of the recipe. Some southern style biscuits on the side would also be great with this recipe and other more unusual chili recipes with cocoa.
Before you let the long ingredients list put you off, you probably already have most of these ingredients sitting in your kitchen cupboards. If you like to make traditional Mexican food recipes as well as more unusual chili recipes, it is worth stocking up on the necessary herbs and spices because you can do so much with them.
Beef Chili with Cocoa and Herbs
Ingredients -
2 lbs beef stew meat, in 1 inch pieces
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced onion
½ lb thinly sliced button mushrooms
¾ teaspoon black pepper
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
4 cubes bittersweet chocolate, shaved or grated
1 chopped red bell pepper
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 lb small new potatoes, quartered
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
3 cups beef or veal stock, at room temperature
Preparation:
Heat half the olive oil in a pot over a moderate to high heat.
Season the beef with a teaspoon of the salt, half a teaspoon of the black pepper and the Cajun seasoning.
When the oil is hot, add the beef, and brown it all over. You might need to do this in batches.
It will take about 7 minutes to brown it all. Transfer the browned beef to a plate using a slotted spoon.
Add the butter to the pan, then sauté the mushrooms for 5 minutes.
Add the onions and cook them for 5 minutes or until soft.
Add the flour and cook for 4 minutes, then add the tomato paste, beef stock, cocoa powder, oregano, allspice, thyme, meat, and basil.
Bring the mixture to a boil then turn down the heat and simmer it, covered, for 45 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, potatoes, and red bell pepper and cook for an hour longer.
Sprinkle the chocolate over the stew and serve.
(Serves 8)
Photo Description:
You can see from the picture how dark, thick and rich-looking the sauce is on this chili recipe. What a delight this dish is. It might be difficult to imagine a beef dish with cocoa and chocolate in it, unless you have tried chocolate used as a savory ingredient, but this is well worth making. The cocoa powder adds an earthy richness to the meat, the vegetables go well and bulk out this stew, and overall this is a full-flavored and impressive Mexican chili recipe to make for the family or for guests.
