Chilli Chocolate Tacos

So big news coming tomorrow! Oh yes I'm finally going to be announcing what me and Divya having been working our little socks off on. So keep your eyes peeled on Instagram and my facebook page as I will be unveiling there first tomorrow at about 6, and then a blog post with all the deets will be up in the coming days for all you none social media heads.

I have also been working hard on my mental health, I've been suffering a bit of a low patch, overall I would say I'm improving but the last couple of weeks have been tough. I think I have been putting myself under too much pressure again. I think I really need to work on ways of relieving some of this pressure cos at the moment I feel like I'm always at boiling point, or at least close to it. But I'm looking forward to a holiday. I'm going away next weekend to El Dorado Festival, and then at the end of July I'm going to Portugal for a couple of weeks. I've found giving myself breaks to enjoy myself (and I mean proper breaks, no Instagram, no emails, no nothing) an important part of my creative process. I'm heading to near Farrow in Portugal, and I have no idea of places to eat so hit me up if you've got any recommendations. In the mean time here is a delicious recipe I whipped up real quick yesterday. I am a part of a facebook group called Health Bloggers Community, basically a lovely bunch of people promoting and helping each other in the fields of health and wellness. And I saw a post about a competition for chocolate recipes, 4 of which they will publish on their site. I don't expect to be one of the winning 4, but I figure it's worth a shot and the theme of chocolate inspired a damn good dish so ya no.

Ok I know I know, who the hell hears the word chocolate and thinks savoury food? But my thinking was 1) it's a bit different, hopefully there won't be many other chocolate tacos, 2) I actually really love using chocolate in savoury dishes and if you bare with me and are adventurous enough to make this recipe, you might see why. Anyway check out health blogger's community if you like all things well-being, whether that's food, fitness or mental. And I'll let you know if by some long shot my recipe is picked.

So on to the tacos themselves, I used Vivani 92% dark chocolate, which I picked up in my local health food shop. this brand is ethical, fair trade and comes in biodegradable packaging, so I really love it. Whatever chocolate you use make it as dark as you can, like an 80-90% one. To balance out the deep rich chocolate I used the heat of fresh red chilli and chipotle chilli flakes, and a little carob syrup to add sweetness. I have recently started using carob syrup over agave or maple as it has a lower glycemic index (it's basically lower in sugar), this is great for me as a diabetic, however you can use any sweetener you fancy. my spicy chocolatey sauce accompanied mixed pulses. I used a can which came pre-mixed in water and included chickpeas, black eyed beans, pinto beans, haricot beans, red kidney beans, and adzuki beans. But you can use any beans you like.

To top my beans I made a super simple corn salsa, with tomato, red onion and coriander. But you can go wild with your taco toppings, these beans will be a great base to many a condiment.

I also ditched the traditional corn taco in favour of a cos lettuce leaf. I really like this doing this because it's cheaper than traditional tacos, and almost certainly more nutritious too. It also adds great crunch.

Dark chocolate consumed in moderation is actually hella healthy for you. It is rich in antioxidants and flavanoids. So sticking it in your taco may seem like an odd move but it's really all round winning.

Thanks to social media we are used to taco tuesday but I'm saying tacos any damn day of the week, especially if they involve chocolate!

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

For the chilli chocolate beans

1 400g can of mixed pulses

1 red chilli (deseeded)

1 carrot

1 red bell pepper

1/2 red onion

2 teaspoons carob syrup (or any other sweetner)

2 teaspoons tarragon

1 teaspoon chipotle chilli flakes (or any red chilli flakes)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

30g dark chocolate (80% cocoa or higher)

200ml water

For the corn salsa

1/2 red onion

150g sweetcorn (either from a can or frozen)

150g cherry tomatoes

Juice of 1/2 a lime

30g fresh coriander

To serve

Large Cos Lettuce leaves (or corn tacos)

Method

1) Place a large sauce pan on a low heat and add the chilli flakes, cumin,ground coriander, cinnamon and paprika. Dry fry the spices for a couple of minutes until the spices become fragrant,

2) Halve a red onion, dice half and add it to the spices with a little oil. Retain the other half for the corn salsa. Dice the red chilli and add to the pan too. Fry for a few minutes until the onion has softened.

3) Thinly dice the carrot and bell pepper and add to the pan. Fry for a few more minutes. 4) Once the vegetables have softened add the can of mixed pulses, including the water, to the pan.

5) Add the tarragon and carob syrup.

6) Top up with 200ml of water. Bring the sauce pan to the boil, and then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.

7) Meanwhile slice the tomatoes into quarters, dice the remaining half of onion and fresh coriander. And combine in a bowl with the sweetcorn and lime juice.

8) Chop the dark chocolate into small pieces. Once the liquid in the beans has reduced add the chocolate. Stirring as you go to help it melt. The beans should thicken, once they have remove from the heat.

9) Assemble your tacos and enjoy!