Chili, aromatic, spicy, homey; comfort food at it’s best. I simply adore chili. Love at first taste. I remember the first time I tried this Tex Mex hug in a bowl; a cherished albeit bittersweet memory.

It was a cold, snowy, and homesick day in Grand Forks B.C.. I was twenty-two years old, my first time out on my own, having left Victoria B.C to work as a teacher in the area. The town, the people, and the weather were so different from what I knew. Gone was the initial excitement of being a newly independent adult, in a new place, and in a new job. Here I was miles away from my family, my friends, and my former life. I felt lonely, cold, and unsure. Miserable; my mood as grey as the day. Trying to escape the cold within and without, I stepped into the first restaurant I came to and started to peruse the menu. Barely through the list of appetizers, an intoxicating, warm, and new aroma captured my senses. Calling over the waitress I asked, “What is that? It smells so good!” “Chili, just made today, fresh bread too”. she replied. “I want that!” Away went the menu, my decision final. I waited in eager anticipation for my order to be filled, my earlier woes were forgotten. Lunch had suddenly become a savoury adventure. As the hearty, steaming bowl of chili was placed before me, I inhaled deeply the exotic scent of cumin, coriander and chiles. The first spoonful brought a smile to my face and warmed my soul, the flavour profile foreign, yet inviting. Nirvana! Where had this been my whole life?

The simple answer, being raised in an Eastern European household chili was not on the menu, not even in my mother’s wheel house of foods to prepare. Goulash spiced with paprika and cabbage rolls made with sauerkraut; that was mom food. Growing up, Chilli, was the little penguin in the old Woody Woodpecker cartoons; one of my favourite cartoon characters incidentally. I love Chilli Willy so much I even have a stuffy which bears the name. However, now that I have found chili the food, it is a dish I create frequently, and since being Keto I no longer add beans to the recipe. Therefore without further a do the Keto Gourmet Chili Recipe.

Ingredients

1/2 lb Fresh Chorizo Sausage

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

2 tbsp dice poblano pepper

2 tbsp diced red pepper

2 tbsp diced yellow pepper

2 tbsp diced red onion

2 cups beef broth

1/4 tsp sweet leaf powdered stevia

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cocoa powder

1 tbsp cumin powder

1 tbsp Mexican chili powder

salt to taste, added at end of cooking

Condiments

shredded cheese

sour cream

sliced green onions

sliced radishes

squeeze of lime

diced poblano or jalapeno pepper

Pre heat pot on medium to medium high heat. Add the Fresh Chorizo Sausage to the pan and cook until starting to caramelize and all liquid evaporated from the pan. Add tomato paste and cook until starts to become a deeper red/brown colour. Add the peppers and onion to the pan cook for a minute. Add the broth next and mix in scrapping any brown bits (fond) off the bottom of the pot (flavour punch). Next add all the spices and turn down the heat and simmer on stove until the amount of liquid reduces by more than half. The mixture should not be soupy. I personally like an almost dry chili. Add salt to taste. One serving is 3/4 of a cup. Add condiments to your taste and your carb count.

One serving minus the condiments is 31 calories, Carb 8 gram, Fat 15 gram, Protein 18 gram, Fiber 2 gram.

Happy Eating!

Irene, The Keto Gourmet