Now you may be slightly confused by the title of this post, Chipotle and Chocolate? Surely not? Well the addition of this little ingredient came from inspiration from my biggest role model, my mum. Whenever she makes us a Chilli Con Carne at home, she always adds dark chocolate into the recipe. adding chocolate to Chilli con Carne, giving it a luxurious velvety sheen, and the bittersweet flavour complements the heat of the chilli perfectly - so don't knock it until you try it! (also, playing guess the secret ingredient with your housemates is a fun game!)
- 1tablespoon of Cacao Powder
I knew I wanted to incorporate sweet potatoes into my meal because not only are they a good source of carbohydrates, but they taste amazing too! They are classified as a 'good' carbohydrate because the sweet potato digests slowly, causing a gradual rise in blood sugar so you feel satisfied for longer. When I was trying to decide what to use for my gluten-free taco shells, the idea of using crispy sweet potato skins hit me! So due to my experimental nature I bit the bullet and tried it out - and it worked AMAZINGLY! Paired with fresh guacamole and salsa, this meal was definitely a hit in my house!
Ingredients
(Serves 6)
(For the Chipotle and Chocolate Tofu)
- 3tablespoons of McCormick Chipotle and Roasted Garlic Seasoning
- 2tablespoons of Olive Oil + 1tablespoon to fry Tofu + glug for sweet potatoes
- 1tablespoon of Tomato Puree
- 1tablespoon of Cacao Powder
- 2 Cloves of Garlic (crushed)
- 1teaspoon of Ground Cumin
- 1/2teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
- 1/2teaspoon of Dried Oregano
- Juice of Half a Lime (about 1tablespoon)
- 2x Red Bell Peppers
- 2x 10oz Packets of Extra Firm Tofu (drained and crumbled)
- 1x Red Onion (finely diced)
- 1x 400g tin of Black Beans (washed and drained)
- 6x medium Sweet Potatoes
- Salt and Pepper to taste
(For the Guacamole)
- 2x Large Avocados (peeled, de-stoned and mashed roughly with a fork)
- Juice of Half a Lime (about 1tablespoon)
- 1x Clove of Garlic (crushed)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
(For the Salsa)
- 2x Beef Tomatoes (diced)
- 1/2 a Cucumber (diced)
- Juice of 1 Lemon (about 2tablespoons)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
(Extras to serve)
- Sour Cream
- Iceberg Lettuce (shredded)
Method
1) Firstly you need to get you sweet potatoes and bell peppers in to bake. Set your fan oven to around 200C, and toss your sweet potatoes in a good glug of olive oil so the skins are coated. Place on a baking tray and pop into the oven, they should take around 25 minutes to cook but you can test them by sticking a clean knife into the middles of them, if it slides in easily they are ready.
2) Put your bell peppers onto a separate baking tray whole and and also place into the oven. They should be ready after around 10 minutes, but you will know when the skin begins to blacken.
3) While your sweet potato and bell peppers are cooking its time to make your Chipotle and Chocolate marinade. In a small bowl, combine the chipotle seasoning, garlic, lime juice, cacao powder, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, olive oil and tomato puree.
4) When you bell peppers are ready, take them out of the oven, remove the stalks and seeds, and put into a blender with 2 cups of cold water, then blend until smooth (you could also use a stick blender). Combine the pureed peppers with the Chipotle and Chocolate marinade.
5) Next grab yourself a large frying pan and place over a medium-high heat. Add the 1 tablespoon of olive oil, diced onion and crumbled tofu and sauté for around 5 minutes until the tofu is just starting to starting to brown.
6) Once your tofu is cooked, add your Chipotle, Chocolate and Pepper marinade to the pan, along with the beans and a good seasoning of salt and pepper to taste, stirring well before turning the heat down to low and leaving it to simmer.
7) Test your sweet potatoes - if they are cooked, remove them from the oven and carefully slice them in half lengthways, before scooping out the flesh so you are left with just the skins, set them to one side (be careful they will be hot!). Mash the flesh and add around half of it to the pan with you tofu and beans, mixing it in well.
(leave your oven on at 200C)
8) Making the Guacamole and Salsa couldn't be simpler. Just put the ingredients for each one into separate bowls and thoroughly combine before covering and putting them into the fridge.
9) By now your Chipotle and Chocolate Tofu should have reduced so that it had become thick and most of the liquid has cooked off and all thats left is to crisp up your sweet potato skins! I placed mine on a baking tray, cut side down first, and spayed them with some fry-light cooking oil (sprayable oil) before putting them into the oven for around 3 minutes, before turing over and repeating the process on what would be the inside of the potato.
Layer up your crispy skins with shredded lettuce, your tofu mix, and then serve alongside bowls of the remaining mashed sweet potato flesh, guacamole, salsa, and sour cream for your diners to dig in!
Although this dish has a lot of steps and ingredients, the results are definitely worth it and this is definitely a meal perfect to share with friends that is guaranteed to wow your guests!
Enjoy, Charlotte x
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