Chilli chocolate and bean soup

There is now only a week left before the first of my two autumn holidays. I'm unsure whether I can call them 'winter sun' holidays yet. Or, for that matter whether we are now officially into Autumn? Regardless, the weather has indeed changed in that direction.

As we are going away, I didn't want to buy any fresh ingredients and simply wanted to make the best use of the ingredients I had in the house. So, this is definitely a store cupboard dish. A delicately spiced warming bean soup with the richness of dark chocolate and crunchy, cheesy corn croutons. This is a an exceptional winter treat.

What you will need
1 tin kidney beans
1 tin pinto beans
1 tin chopped tomatoes
400ml vegetable stock
2 cloves garlic
2 green chillis
2 tea spoons ground cumin
2 tea spoons ground coriander
2 tea spoons paprika
1/2 tea spoon cinammon
4 squares of good quality dark chocolate (I used Green and Black's)
4 taco shells
4 tablespoon yogurt
2-3 handfuls of grated cheddar

Firstly drain the beans and add them to a pan with the spices, chopped garlic and chillies. Cook these off for a minute until the spices become fragrent, then add the tin of chopped tomatoes and the vegetable stock and season with salt. Bring the pan to the boil and add the pieces of chocolate to the soup and melt. Simmer the soup for 20-25 minutes until the chopped tomatoes have broken down and the soup has thickened slightly.

To make the taco croutons, cook the tacos in the oven as per packet instructions.

When ready to serve the soup, break each taco into medium sized pieces and place on top of the soup.

Top with a tablespoon of yogurt and a quarter of the cheese and place under the grill for a minute or two to melt the cheese.

Serve immediately.