Guest Author - Susan Stewart

Corn, tomatoes, potatoes...many of our everyday foods come from Central and South America. But many would yell out one contribution above all others...CHOCOLATE!
Christopher Columbus was the first European to encounter cacao. Somewhere off the coast of Honduras, Columbus met a large Mayan trading canoe full of cacao beans and other trade goods.Though known without Central America, it was the Mayans of the Yucatan peninsula that truly introduced chocolate to the rest of the world.
Mayans ate cacao beans in many forms – the sweet pulp was eaten as a dessert, and the beans were roasted and ground to make drinks. A vase from around AD750 shows a Mayan lady pouring liquid from vessel to another. This was the classic method of obtaining a froth on cocoa! Early Americans combined chocolate with chilies, achiote, herbs, vanilla, and other ingredients to make a variety of drinks.
The sweetened variety was preferred in Europe – though fashionable people would flavor the cocoa with jasmine, roses, vanilla, or ambergris.
Fashions in food have come full circle – there are companies offering chili-chocolate truffles, chili-chocolate ice cream, and more.
The classic combination of chili and chocolate is in mole sauce. But that’s an article for another day! Here’s a couple of recipes so you can try this unique, yet ancient, combination:

Hot Hot Chocolate – for 2
1 2/3 cups milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 small red chili pepper, split with seeds removed
1 cinnamon stick, around 3-4"
1 1/2 oz grated chocolate (bittersweet)
Simmer milk in a saucepan with the split vanilla bean, whole cinnamon stick and chili. Bring to a gentle simmer and whisk in chocolate. Continue simmering until the chocolate is melted. Let sit for about 10 minutes. Strain out the spices and serve.

Just as in the classic mole sauce, the addition of chocolate to a chili dish lends smoothness, and helps to combine the flavors. Try this chili, but don’t tell anyone your secret ingredient!

Tex-Mex Chili Con Carne and Chocolate - Seves 6

3 tablespoons olive oil
4 onions, chopped
2 pounds / 1 kg minced beef
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 cans (14 oz / 400 g each) tomatoes
2-4 red chilies, chopped, seeds removed if you wish less heat
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground pepper
2 teaspoons oregano
2 bay leaves
2-3 teaspoons salt
1-2 cans (14 oz / 400 g each) beans (red, white or black), drained
2 oz (60 g) grated bittersweet chocolate

In a large pan, saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil until softened. Add beef and brown throroughly. Stir in tomatoes, red chilies, red bell pepper, salt and spices. Let simmer gently for 15-30 minutes. Add drained beans and heat through. Stir in grated chocolate, and heat through until melted. Serve with rice, flour tortillas, corn tortillas, or cornbread.