It was late to arrive this year, but autumn is truly here now. Here in the Netherlands, it means that the days are not only getting colder, but also a lot wetter. Dark and damp is really the best way to describe the Dutch weather right now. It can be quite depressing. So to combat this I like to add some warmth and spice to our food. For me, nothing quite hits the spot like a plate of chili con carne.
That chili con carne is not a Dutch dish is blatantly obvious. It’s name wouldn’t be in Spanish if it was. Where it did originate from isn’t entirely clear. But these days it’s mostly associated with Texas. And the Texans take their chili very seriously. Unfortunately that doesn’t mean they agree about what the ingredients of an authentic chili con carne should be.
Should there be beans? And if so, what type? Which kind of meat should be used? Ground meat or chunks? Should there be tomatoes in it or not? The list of controversies seems endless. As a result there seem to be as many different chili recipes as there are snowflakes.
In the end the only thing you can do, is develop your own personal favourite recipe. Which is what I’ve done. So here I present to you, my Dutch version of chili con carne. Try it out and see if it adds some warmth and spice to your life as well.
Prep Time | 20 minutes |
Cook Time | 2 hours |
Servings |
people
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- 400 gr chuck beef
- 1 onion
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 can sweet corn 140 gr drained weight
- 1 can kidney beans 255 gr drained weight
- 6 Tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 fresh chilli pepper or more if you like more heat
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp smoked paprika powder
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 cube beef stock
Ingredients
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- Cut the meat into 2,5cm (1inch) cubes and brown it with butter in a Dutch oven. Then remove it from the pan.
- Add the sliced onion and bell pepper. Brown these as well, adding a little more butter if needed.
- In a blender combine the tomatoes, garlic, chilli pepper, cumin, paprika powder, oregano and stock cube. Blend until smooth.
- Add the meat back into the pan, along with your tomato mixture. Leave to simmer for about two hours or until the meat falls apart. Add a bit of water to the mixture if it becomes too dry.
- In the last 15 minutes of cooking, add the sweet corn and kidney beans.
- Serve your chili con carne with white rice.
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