A simple chili con carne recipe served with wild rice. The novelty here is the use of fresh ingredients instead of dried powders. The result: awesome!
I was never a big fan of Chili Con Carne. Maybe because I have associated it with cheap pub meals in the UK. You know, when they serve it on top of a jacked potato. I never fancied it, I’ve always snubbed it.
It can also be that every time I tried it I was overwhelmed with the cheap powders the chefs use for garlic, onion, chili etc. I thought I would give it a go and replace everything with fresh ingredients.
I took another step and…guess what? I didn’t use beans from a tin can! They always smell terrible and taste so artificial. Who is eating this stuff? I mean, at least in the western world, we left behind the Second World War era where food was scarce.
People, I repeat! You don’t have to eat processed food from a tin can! Click To Tweet
Boil your beans in plenty of water for an hour and…voila! No preservatives at all. They taste better too!
Anyway, the chili con carne with fresh ingredients was very successful. It’s a hearty meal and can satisfy any demanding palates. You may adjust my seasoning recommendations according to your liking.
- 500 gr (17 oz) ground beef.
- 300 gr (10 oz) kidney beans.
- 1 large onion chopped.
- 1 red pepper chopped.
- 1 green pepper chopped.
- 2 green and 2 red chillies finely chopped.
- 2-3 garlic cloves finely chopped.
- 3-4 sweet and juicy ripe tomatoes.
- 2 cups of tomato puree (passata).
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano.
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper.
- 1 tablespoon paprika.
- ⅓ cup of extra-virgin olive oil.
- 2 cups of wild rice.
- Salt and ground pepper.
- Place the beans in a bowl with water and let them soak for several hours (preferably overnight).
- Boil the beans in a large pot with plenty of water. After ~ 10 minutes of boiling, drain the beans, discard the boiling water and start again with fresh water. Boil until beans become soft and edible (~ 45 minutes). Drain and keep the beans aside.
- In a large pot, warm up the olive oil on medium heat. Start cooking the onion, peppers and chilli. When they start getting soft, add the garlic and beef. Season with oregano, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and paprika and cook until the beef becomes nicely brown. Give it a stir from time to time.
- Meanwhile, prepare a nice tomato paste with the fresh tomatoes using a blender.
- Add the fresh tomato paste in the pot together with the tomato puree. Set the heat to low and stir well. The meat should be covered by the tomato sauce. If not, add a bit of hot water.
- Let your chili cook slowly for ~ 1 hour. Give it a stir from time to time. You should always try it to check if it needs more seasoning.
- Boil the rice according to the instructions on the box. Drain and return it to the pot that it was cooked. Place a towel on the pot to absorb the excess water from the rice for ~ 15 minutes.
- Your chili is ready when the excess water has been boiled and the sauce has thickened.
- Bon appetit!
