Chili Con Carne

¡Hola!

Mexican food, si señor!

I must admit I've never been in Mexico, but I have tasted enough mexican food in various restaurants to know that I love Mexican cuisine. Mexico is on my bucket list, so I'll certainly go there one day!

Taco's, tortilla's, pollo con mole, chili con carne, enchiladas, quesadillas, guacamole... I've tasted it all. And honestly, who doesn't like a Mexican bite once in a while?!

One of my favorites is chili con carne. Originally this stew consists of chili,  meat, tomatoes and often beans. But you can find a lot of varieties with different types of meat, extra vegetables and so on. If you want you can add capsicum, carrots, zucchini, ... whatever you feel like adding.
Today I'll give you my recipe of a really simple chili con carne. It only takes like 10 minutes to prepare. Of course you have to let it simmer for about an hour, but there is no work in that, is there! I always have all the ingredients stored at home, so I can prepare this whenever I want.
Chili con carne can be served with rice or "mexican rice" (I'll upload a recipe for this later on!), tortilla chips or bread. It can also be used in wraps or taco's or you can use it for chili dogs, which is a hotdog with chili con carne, grated cheese and grilled in the oven.
To make the Mexican feeling complete, drink a Sol or a Corona with your chili con carne.
Enjoy this recipe! I know you will!

Chili Con Carne

Ingredients:

• 500gr minced meat (I use a pork-veal mix)
• 800gr canned kidney beans
• 800gr chopped tomatoes (if prefer using canned, because fresh tomatoes are more sour)
• 3 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp spicy paprika powder
• 2 tsp chili powder or fresh chili to taste
• 2 tsp oregano
• 2 cubes beef stock
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 laurel leaf
• 1 big chopped (red) onion, or 2 small ones
• 10cl red wine
• oil
• cilantro, for garnish
• optional: sour cream

Preparation:

Heat some oil in a big casserole and fry the onion and the garlic. I like using red onion because it is sweeter than regular onion. Add the minced meat and fry. Add your seasoning, your beef stock and give it a stir. Add the tomatoes, the beans, the red wine and the laurel. Let it simmer for 40 minutes on a low fire with a half open cover to let some vaporized moisture out. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with some cilantro

Serve with rice, tortillas or taco chips and some sour cream!

Mmmmmm, so good!

May 07, 2013