Last weekend your Sommelier’s took advantage of a break in the DC heat to make chili. OK, maybe mid-September doesn’t make everyone think of a big bowl of steaming hot chili, but this is not your average chili: for one thing, it features orange juice and cinnamon. The combination may sound strange, but stay with us here people – it turns plain black bean chili into a perfectly appropriate early fall meal.
We found our recipe courtesy of Epicurious, but couldn’t help making a few tweaks of our own. After picking up our ingredients, we noticed a definite deficiency in the “fresh vegetables” section of the shopping list. We decided to amp that up by sauteeing diced red peppers and zucchini with the onion. We also opted for non-fat Greek yogurt over sour cream as an accompaniment.
The final result was a massive (please feel free to halve this recipe), delicious bowl of chili. The orange and cinnamon really do shine and add a nice, cool element to standard chili.
Once again, no wine pairing to report (although we did enjoy a nice Becks Light – sometimes even wine lovers need a break).
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