Roasted Pepper Chili

My first course in my "Peppers and Chilies" Iron Chef competition was Chili with fire roasted peppers. It was served atop a Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread Muffin with a dollop of Cilantro-Lime Sour Cream. The dish was awesome and a crowd favorite, even my competitor enjoyed it. Roasting your peppers brings out the flavors in the peppers and imparts a smokiness to the pepper. Fire roasting instructions are at the end of the recipe. You can click on the picture for a closer view of the peppers and chilies.

Roasted Pepper Chili

Serves 8

1 Poblano Pepper, roasted and peeled

1 Green Bell Pepper, roasted and peeled

1 Red Bell Pepper, roasted and peeled

1 Jalapeno Pepper, roasted and peeled

All peppers de-seeded and diced

1 Tomato, diced

2 cloves of Garlic, minced

1 Purple Onion, diced

1 large can of Diced Tomatoes

1 can of Tomato Sauce

1 can of Black Beans

1 can of Kidney Beans

1/4 C. of Brown Sugar

1/2 C. of Chorizo Sausage

4 Tbl. of Chili Powder

3 Tbl. of Cumin

Salt, to taste

Canola oil

- In a large pot, pour in one tablespoon of canola oil. Add onions, garlic and chorizo to pot, cook until softened

- Add roasted peppers, cumin and chili powder to pot and allow flavors to combine

- Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, black beans, kidney beans, and brown sugar

- Simmer all ingredients for 20 minutes

- Serve atop a Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread Muffin and top with a dollop of Cilantro-Lime Sour Cream

How to roast peppers and chilies

- Using a gas stove, place raw, whole peppers and chilies over a medium flame

- Roast all sides of the pepper until the skin blisters ad blackens

- Place the pepper in a plastic bag and seal it. The heat will steam off the blistered skin

- Remove pepper from bag and peel off skin

- Cut pepper in half and remove seeds and white ribs to remove the majority of the heat

- Dice peppers for chili