Blue Chocolate Chili

This recipe was my entry in the first ever D's of DBB Chili Cookoff in November 2010 --- and (proud to report) it was also the winner in the vegetarian and overall categories. Much fun. The addition of the blue cheese dressing was totally an accident, although a fortunate one. I made an early batch of the chili and used the blue cheese dressing when I couldn't find any sour cream in my fridge. Presto. My first original recipe. :-)

Blue Chocolate Chili
(Sarah’s variation on a recipe from Real Simple magazine)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 yellow or orange bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 16-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped (or buy already chopped)
• 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 15-ounce cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• Marie’s Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing (or equivalent)
• Blue tortilla chips

Directions

1. In a large pot, over medium heat, cook the olive oil, garlic, onion, and red/yellow peppers until slightly softened, stirring gently, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans, vegetable broth, cumin, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat.
3. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
4. Before serving, stir in the chocolate until melted.
5. Garnish with a dollop of blue cheese dressing and crumbled blue tortilla chips.
6. Enjoy!