black bean & chocolate chili

best served as a side dish, hot dip or accompaniment with quesadillas
serves 6 - 8
total time : 50 minutes

2 tbls veg oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 small fresh chile, minced
1 tbls ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 chopped bell peppers
3 cups cooked or canned black beans ( two 15.5 ounce cans rinsed & drained)
2 cups undrained crushed canned tomatoes (14.5 - ounce can)
1 tbls fresh lemon juice
1 tbls soy sauce
1 1/2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, broken into small pieces (1/4 cup)
chopped scallions

in saucepan, warm the oil on medium.
add onion & garlic, saute for 10 minutes.
add in celery & chile, cover & cook 5 minutes.

reduce heat and stir in cumin, oregano, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, pepper, salt & bell peppers. cover & cook 5 minutes, stir occasionally...if needed add a little juice from the tomatoes to keep from sticking.

add in beans, tomatoes, lemon juice, soy sauce.
bring to a simmer, cover & cook 5 - 10 minutes.
stir in chocolate.
adjust salt pepper & lemon juice to taste.

garnish with scallions.