Mole black bean chili

I think that if I had to choose one nationality of food to eat exclusively for the rest of my life I’d probably go with Mexican food. I love it. I love the variety, the spicy flavours, the rice, the beans and veggies, the tortillas. And really, any type of cuisine that allows you to justifiably add chocolate to an entree has got to be good. I am of course talking about mole, the delicious spicy sauce that draws its exquisite richness from dark chocolate.

I first tried mole sauce when a friend of mine who’s from Mexico made me nopales (cactus) with rice, corn tortillas and mole sauce. It was heaven. Hers was beautiful authentic Mexican food and her mole was heavenly and made with Mexican chocolate. As mole is the national dish of Mexico I feel it was quite an honour.

Mole actually means “sauce” and is used to describe a number of variants, some which don’t contain chocolate at all. The strong association of mole with it’s chocolate version seems to come from the fame of “Mole Poblano” the most famous of the moles which is a chocolaty one. I choose to believe that its inextricable association with chocolate is because, really, if there’s a chocolate version available would you ever be able to reasonably consider a non-chocolate one?

A few months ago I decided to make a mole black bean chili. After a few trials this is the recipe that I like. In my version I use black beans, frozen mixed peppers and frozen sweet corn. The reason for the frozen stuff is because I can get a huge bag of frozen veg cheaply and use it for numerous recipes while maintaining the nutrition and flavour, but you can of course substitute it for fresh veg instead.

While this recipe clearly won’t rival the age old family mole recipes of Mexico I feel like it’s a good attempt and makes a delicious and wholesome meal served along with some brown rice or tortillas. I think I might revisit the mole at some point in the future to try to hone this wonderful sauce to serve with other things, I may even try and hunt down some nopales! But until then, this chili will continue to be one of my favourites!

Mole black bean chili

2015-09-03 09:57:17

A beautiful smoky mole black bean chili. With a bit of chili heat and the rich depth of dark chocolate. Wholesome, healthy and delicious.

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Ingredients

1. 500g cooked black beans (200g dried ones soaked and cooked)
2. 1 400g can chopped tomatoes
3. 1 large brown onion, chopped
4. 150g frozen corn
5. 200g frozen mixed peppers
6. 1 jalapeno pepper, de-seeded and finely chopped (optional)
7. 120mL vegetable stock (you might not need it all)
8. 1/2 Tbsp tomato paste
9. 1 Tbsp oil
10. 1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
11. 2 tsp smoked paprika
12. 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
13. 30g dark chocolate, chopped

Instructions

1. In a large pot heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion (and jalapeno if using) and a pinch of salt and allow it to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and starting to brown a bit at the edges, about 10-15 minutes. Add the spices and stir for a further minute.
2. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, corn, peppers beans and about half of the stock. Give it all a good stir, lower the heat, cover and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally for about an hour, adding more of the stock if needed to keep it saucy. Season to taste as you go.
3. Once everything is cooked and the flavours have developed, remove the chili from the heat and stir the chocolate in until it’s melted and evenly combined.
4. Serve hot with rice or tortillas or on a jacket potato or baked yam.

Notes

1. You can adjust the level of heat by adding more jalapenos if you'd like.

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