Spicy Mole Oatmeal Chili

Traditional Texas-style chili is made only with meat, chile peppers, and tomatoes. But over the years, I have put some strange things in chili. Beer, peanut butter, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and all kinds of beans, from standards like pinto and black beans to slightly off-the-wall legumes like chickpeas, have made their way into my fire engine red Dutch oven. Even still, with the variety of ingredients that one can toss into a pot of chili, I could not have imagined the day when I would add both oatmeal and cocoa powder into my chili.

Thanks to my friend Jen who posted the link on Facebook saying it was her favorite chili, I now have a healthy, antioxidant-full go-to recipe. The oatmeal makes it a thicker chili than a lot of other vegetarian chilis, and it does look surprisingly like ground turkey. I couldn’t taste a lot of the cocoa powder over the chili powder and chipotle sauce, so next time I might use a darker cocoa to really get that mole flavor.

Spicy Mole Oatmeal Chili
source: Natural Health
Yields 4-6 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
½ cup diced carrots
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes with cilantro and lime or with basil and garlic
2 15.5-ounce cans low-sodium dark-red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon best-quality unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons chipotle en adobo sauce
1½ cups rolled oats
7 ounces water
4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot.
2. Cook onions and carrots until onions are translucent but not brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt.
3. Add tomatoes to the pot, then add rinsed beans.
4. Add cocoa and chili powder until the powders are completely incorporated into the mixture. Add chipotle sauce.
5. Add the rolled outs and about half the water. Cook for about 5 minutes and add water as necessary. You want a thick consistency.
6. Cook for about 5 to 10 minutes more, until oats break down.
7. Serve in individual bowls with a sprinkle of cheese on top.