Chorizo Chili

What could be better than a big bowl of chili and some crusty grain bread on a cold, winter night?!  This Chorizo Chili combines hearty black beans and kidney beans with a rich tomato-based sauce, and spicy chorizo seitan for a very satisfying meal.

The star players in this dish include the Naked Infusions Signature Ripe Tomato salsa in Extra Hot Heat. These organic salsas are really just tomato-based sauces as they are blended like sauces and not chunky like other salsas. It makes a great base for a chili. And the Extra Hot Heat is really hot! Feel free to choose whatever level of heat you prefer.

I also used Upton's Naturals Chorizo Seitan, which I consider to be the best seitan available in my area. This flavor comes ground so it is easy to break up and use in chili. It has just enough spice to give it that chorizo flavor, but isn't overly spicy if you don't prefer the heat. And it's GMO-free! You can find it in the DC-area at Whole Foods, MOM's (My Organic Market), Roots Market, and the Takoma Park Silver Spring Food Co-Op.

Chorizo Chili
Serves 8

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 carrots, sliced 
• 1 small red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 habanero pepper (optional)
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 ounces of mushrooms, quartered
• 1 package Upton's Naturals Chorizo Seitan
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• Naked Infusions Signature Ripe Tomato salsa
• Spring onions, sliced, for garnish

Instructions
Heat a large saucepan on medium heat. Add olive oil, carrots, bell pepper, onion, habanero pepper, and garlic and cook for 3 minutes.  Add mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes. Add seitan and cook for 2 minutes.

Add cumin, chili powder and tomatoes and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes on medium-low heat. Add salt, beans, and salsa and simmer for 30 minutes on low heat. Serve garnished with spring onions and crusty seeded bread.

Full Disclosure: Although the products were provided to me for free to review, that in no way influenced my veracious opinion.