Heat a large soup pot or Dutch oven to medium/medium-high heat, and add the extra virgin olive oil. Once hot, add the onions, carrots, celery, red pepper, cilantro stalks, garlic, and red pepper flakes to the pot, along with a healthy pinch of salt and black pepper, and cook for 5-8 minutes, or until the vegetables are translucent. Add the remaining spices to the pot and cook the vegetables for 1-2 minutes.

Add the ground turkey (or ground beef, if substituting) to the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the garbanzo beans, kidney beans, and tomatoes, and stir well, cooking for an additional 2 minutes. I usually fill up one of the 15-ounce cans with cold water and add it to the chili until the vegetables and meat are just barely covered with water. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir to combine. Bring the chili to almost a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, give the chili a taste. It will probably need more salt, possibly black pepper. Taste, season, stir and re-taste until you have hit your seasoning preference. Add the chopped cilantro leaves (remember, you added the stems in step one) to the chili and cook for another minute or so.

Once ready, put some basmati rice in a bowl and top with the chili con carne. I like to finish my chili off with some Greek yogurt or sour cream and give it a nice squeeze of lime before digging in.