HOT CHOCOLATE LENTIL and GRILLED ASPARAGUS TACOS

THIS DISH SCREAMS SEXY! —DEREK

SERVES 4

Meaty, earthy black lentils, with a little hot chile chocolate in the mix, make tasty tacos. Try the smaller beluga “caviar” lentils. They’re more flavorful than brown lentils. For the chocolate, we usually use half of a Theo regular 3-ounce chile chocolate bar, but any chile chocolate bar will do. Oh, by the way, the lentils are a no-oil recipe. The asparagus has a little oil on it for grilling. You could skip the oil and just broil or quickly steam the spears instead.

HOT CHOCOLATE LENTILS

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 lime, halved

1¾ cups water

1 cup beluga caviar black lentils, rinsed and drained

1 can (13 ounces) diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted, not drained

1 tablespoon chili powder

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

1 bay leaf

¼ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1½ ounces hot chile chocolate, broken into pieces

ASPARAGUS

1 bunch asparagus (12 to 15 spears), trimmed

½ teaspoon everyday olive oil

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

ASSEMBLY

¼ head leaf lettuce, leaves trimmed

8 to 10 fresh cilantro sprigs

1 jalapeño chile, sliced thin

8 to 10 Fresh Corn Tortillas (here) or your favorite small tortillas, warmed

FOR THE LENTILS: Combine the onion and garlic in a small saucepot over medium heat and dry-sauté until browned a little, 2 to 3 minutes. Squeeze in the juice of one of the lime halves and scrape the pan bottom to get up the browned bits. Stir in the water, lentils, and half the tomatoes with their juices. (Put the rest of the tomatoes in a bowl for serving with the other taco fixings.) Stir the chili powder, paprika, bay leaf, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper into the lentils, cover, and bring to a simmer. Cut the heat to low and simmer gently until the lentils start to absorb some water, 5 to 7 minutes.

Stir in the chocolate until smooth, then cover again and simmer gently over low heat until the lentils are tender but still have a little bite, about 10 minutes more, stirring now and then. Taste the mixture and add a little more salt and pepper if you think it needs it.

FOR THE ASPARAGUS: Light a grill to medium-high heat. Massage a few drops of oil all over the spears, then season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Grill the asparagus spears just until they turn bright green and soften a bit, rolling them around once or twice. Remove to a cutting board and let cool for 3 to 5 minutes. Slice the spears in half lengthwise and then crosswise into 2-inch pieces. Place in a bowl as a taco tickler topping.

TO ASSEMBLE: Cut the remaining ½ lime into small wedges and put in a bowl. Put the lettuce, cilantro, and jalapeño in separate bowls, and put the warm tortillas in a tortilla warmer or clean kitchen towels. Set everything out (tomatoes too—or use chopped fresh tomatoes!) so guests can build their tacos.