Mexican Recipes: Chile Con Carne

Chile Con Carne

There are many legends and stories about where chili originated and it is generally thought, by most historians, that the earliest versions of chili were made by the very poorest people.
The native American Indians tell a story in which it is said that the first recipe for chili con carne was put on paper in the 17th century by a beautiful nun, Sister Mary of Agreda of Spain.
The Chile would mean the chili peppers used for this dish and carne means beef in Spanish, could this be the earliest recipe of it?
In the 19th century the dish was called The Devils soup by Spanish priests and this could be where the expression "Hot as Hell" might originate from.
In mexico this is now not so much a traditional dish but more served for tourist consumption, not cooked so much by the local community of mexico.
Below i will give you an easy but such a wonderful recipe that if you have ever taste chili con carne pre made in a pot or jar, you will never go back to these once you cooked this recipe.

Serves : 2 large portions

Time: around 2 hours 45 minutes


Ingredients:


- 500 grams of Beef Shin
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 carrot, peeled sliced and quartered
- 2 sticks celery, finely chopped
- 1 yellow pepper
- 2 chipotle chillies
- 1 ancho chilli
- 1 fresh green chilli
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon of oregano
- 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika powder
- 1 tablespoon of chocolate powder, pure coco not chocolate drink
- 200 ml freshly made coffee
- 500 ml of beef stock
- Half a can of chopped tomatoes

Step 1:


Chop the beef shin into chunks and brown on all sides in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the onions and fry until they are golden brown. Add in the chopped pepper, celery, carrot and garlic as well as the fresh green chilli and continue to fry.


Step 2:


Remove the stalks and seeds from the ancho and chipotle and finely chop or crush in a pestle and mortar and add to the pot as well as the cumin, paprika, oregano, chocolate powder and the coffee stock and chopped tomatoes. Stir and leave to simmer with the lid on for 2 hours occasionally checking there’s enough liquid.


Step 3:


After two hours take the lid off the pot and let the sauce reduce down for 30 minutes. The beef should now be very tender, take two forks and pull them through the meat until it is shredded it.

Now you can serve your chili in many diverent ways, with nachos, in tortilla wraps, with boiled basmati rice, served on a Jacket potato or on it's own with a sqeeze of lime juice and a dollop of thick yoghurt.

Now in Mexico they would say " Disfrutar de su comida " which means;

                                                        " Enjoy your meal "


Where can we find Mexico in the World?

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