Hot Chocolate

To the horror and dismay of millions, there are a few of us who are not chocoholics: I actually never crave chocolate. (After my last post about never craving pasta, I'm putting myself at risk of becoming a pariah.) More specifically, I don't yearn for sweet chocolate. My appetites fall under the salty/sour/savory flavor profiles.

Mexican chocolate is therefore a natural fit for me and a revelation. It's strong like dark chocolate but more sour. If you've ever chewed on a cacao nib, you know what I mean. Its flavors are faithful to its ingredients, not masked by chemicals or an excess of sugar. Chocolate, to me, is something that should taste earthy and it belongs with other earthy tastes and aromas like cinnamon and hot chilies.

The LCBO recently printed a recipe for Ancho Chocolate Chili that I had to try out. Lynn had given me tablets of authentic Mexican chocolate from a local farmer's market -- I've talked her ear off in the past about wanting to make true mole sauce some day and she was kind enough to indulge me. I also had lots of beautiful, dried ancho chilies in my pantry, having visited a Mexican grocery near Lynn's. The only difference between what I made (pictured above) and what the LCBO photographed is that I garnished mine with toasted hazelnuts and mint sprigs instead of peanuts and cilantro (a combo that does sound good). Oh well, can't be perfect. But the chili dish itself had a wonderful, complex palette of fragrances and textures. This recipe is definitely a keeper.