Dinner: Black Bean and Chorizo Chili

Recipe by David Bonom This black bean chili recipe gets a kick from chorizo sausage and smoky chipotle chiles.

This recipe includes superfoods such as:

Cinnamon

Health benefits of Black Bean and Chorizo Chili

Cinnamon is one of the best ingredients that someone with insulin sensitivity can eat. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day has been shown to be very effective at normalizing blood sugar levels. Cinnamon contains hydroxychalcone, which is thought to enhance the effects of insulin. It has also been suggested that Cinnamon prevents post-meal blood sugar spikes by slowing the gastric emptying rate - meaning that food digests slowly. (Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11506060).

Ingredients

1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
Cooking spray
2 1/2 cups chopped onion, divided
1 1/2 cups chopped green bell pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped red bell pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 links Spanish chorizo sausage, diced (about 6 1/2 ounces)
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained
3 (14-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (8 1/2-ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, drained
1 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup fat-free sour cream
Baked tortilla chips (optional)

Instructions

Remove 2 chiles from can; finely chop, reserving remaining chiles and sauce for another use.
Heat a large Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chiles, 1 3/4 cups onion, bell peppers, garlic, and chorizo; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add chili powder and next 7 ingredients (chili powder through corn), stirring to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, covered, 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate, salt, and black pepper.
Ladle 1 cup chili into each of 12 bowls. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream and 1 tablespoon onion. Serve with tortilla chips.