Recipe: zesty wheat berry and black bean chili

First, let me just say that I drastically underestimated the sheer quantity of soup that my first batches of soup would produce.  As such, I didn't actually make my third and most anticipated soup until the weekend. I really wasn't sure how this soup and I would get along.  To be honest I have a hard time with the texture of grains sometimes. With the exception of preferring my pasta al dente I tend to eat the majority of my grains on the over-cooked side and when grains have a firmer final texture it tends to be a turn off for me.  When I cooked the wheat berries early in the day Sunday I was a bit nervous because they were a bit too hard for my liking.  However, I figured once I cooked them in the soup they'd soften up a bit; which, of course, they did.  At the end of the process I had an amazingly hearty chili that is so damn healthy you won't believe it!

You will need:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 large yellow bell pepper,chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
• 2 14-ounce cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1-2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced (see Tip)
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
• 2 cups Cooked Wheat Berries (follow the direction on the package.  About 2/3 c. dry wheat berries make 2 cups cooked)
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, chipotle to taste, broth and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes.
2. Stir in cooked wheat berries and heat through, about 5 minutes more. (If using frozen wheat berries, cook until thoroughly heated.) Remove from the heat. Stir in lime juice. Garnish each bowl with avocado and cilantro.

Naturally, it wouldn't be a recipe on my blog unless I made a few changes.  First, I used a red pepper, mostly because I couldn't find a decent yellow pepper.  I pretty much assume that sweet peppers are interchangeable so I don't think color matters, just don't use green. Next, I added the wheat berries at the same time I added the beans and tomatoes.  Again, this was for personal texture issues.  As I'm typing I realize that I didn't add the lime juice last night.  I'll stick some in tonight...I think it will be a great addition.  Finally, I didn't garnish with cilantro or avocado.  I don't care for cilantro and I couldn't come up with a good way to chop up an avocado without it getting disgusting after a few minutes.  Seems how I'll be eating this soup for 5 days I figure I'll just skip that part.  However, I might grab some of the 'Biggest Loser' individual guacamole packets and see how those go with it.

This recipe is easy and so much fun to make.  If you're skeptical about the wheat berries it would still be really good without them.