A few weeks ago, I decided to start a weekly “Recipe Challenge” on my Facebook page. Basically, I asked my fans to recommend a favorite recipe… or just one that they’re too afraid to try! As long as it was Paleo-friendly, and available either online or in one of the cookbooks I already own, I would commit to making the first recommendation!
This week I got a recommendation from Wendy Shaw. She challenged me to make Chocolate Chili from Melissa Joulwan’s Well Fed. I was pretty excited to try this one! I absolutely LOVE Melissa, and every recipe I have tried from her website or her cookbook has been fantastic.
I have to admit, I was a little doubtful that cocoa powder in chili could really be good.
Check out the process…
I love tons of onions in any chili, so I was excited to see that this recipe called for two!
Browning the meat with tons of onions and garlic… yum!
And in goes the cocoa powder… stirred into chili powder, oregano, cumin, allspice, and salt.
“This seems so weird!!!”
Time to simmer!
I almost named this post “Kitchen Tip: Always Read The Entire Recipe Before Starting To Make It.” Why? Because at this point in the process, I realized that the chili has to simmer for at least two hours. Oops!
I dumped some rotisserie chicken into a bowl with some guacamole so we could snack a little until our main dish was simmered to perfection.
Look at that! Only an hour, 59 minutes, and 30 seconds to go!
And this chili smells AMAZING!
And I really need a new timer… this one has been around for almost 10 years…
Okay- back to the challenge!
The first taste… can you see the delicious THICKNESS of this dish?
The cocoa really adds a unique richness to the chili. I was very impressed!
Yeah… we kinda liked it. Kinda alot.
For the complete recipe, be sure to grab your own copy of Well Fed! And actually, I believe you can also find it in her FREE 30-page preview… check it out here. But beware… it’s going to make you want to buy the whole book. And you totally should.