Catalan Chili Recipe

This is a dish I made up — a version of chili incorporating many elements of classic Catalan cuisine: The combination of lard and olive oil as cooking fat; the use of pork instead of beef or other meats; the addition of cinnamon to a savory sauce; and the use of two basics of Catalan cooking, the sofregit (long cooked onions) and the picada (a paste of nuts, fried bread, garlic, and chocolate). I made a big batch of this at the Scottsdale Culinary Festival some years back, and Jacques Pépin came up to taste it after the demonstration. He thought it was pretty good. Click here to see Recipe SWAT Team: Chili.