Eating In: Chili With Chipotle Chilies and Cilantro

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Nov 3, 2008 8:19PM

We mistakenly told the other Chicagoist foodists that November was National Chili Month when, in fact, it was last month.

But it is National Pepper Month, which gives us the segue needed for sharing with you this chili recipe we found online at Epicurious. It's quick, easy, and tasty. Not content to follow orders, we went ahead and added a little something extra (in bold).

Ingredients

- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 2 cups chopped onions
- 3 tablespoons ground cumin
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 fresh garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon chopped canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
- 2 1/2 cups (or more) water
- 1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
- Grated cheddar cheese
- Sour cream
- Additional chopped onion

Sauté beef and 2 cups chopped onions in large Dutch oven over high heat until beef is cooked through, stirring often and breaking up beef with back of spoon, about 10 minutes. Add cumin, chili powder, garlic, cinnamon and chipotle chilies; sauté 3 minutes. Mix in 2 1/2 cups water and 1/2 cup cilantro. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover partially and cook 1 1/2 hours, adding more water by 1/4 cupfuls if chili becomes dry. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to simmer before continuing.)

Mix remaining 1/2 cup cilantro into chili. Ladle chili into bowls. Serve, passing cheese, sour cream and additional chopped onion separately.