Miriam, author of the Winter Guest , brings us a recipe full of flavor, with a spicy touch that you will love. Do you know the authentic chili con carne?

Chili con carne , for those who don't know it, is a spicy meat stew with peppers, tomato and beans. It is a dish that, contrary to what many think because of the name, does not come from Mexico, but apparently was born in the southern United States, in the state of Texas.

Chili con carne is what Americans call comfort food , which would be a hybrid between spoon food and home cooking, which is what we call here those recipes that are completely uncomplicated, but that comfort you and they send you to your mother's kitchen. Or father.

This chili con carne has a secret for it to come out so dark in color and succulent, a secret I learned some time ago: chocolate. A few tablespoons of cocoa powder give it depth and smoothness. To enjoy this luxury of silverware, very easy and very satisfying.

Le Creuset oval cocotte , Emile Henry ceramic plates, Masterclass round board , Emile Henry ramekins and Pallarès iron knife

Ingredients

• 750 g minced meat
• 250 g of red beans or black beans, previously cooked with their broth
• 2 onions
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 800 g of crushed tomato
• 4 cayenne peppers
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed allspice (a couple of crushed cloves can be substituted)
• 1 tablespoon of vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• Some of the bean cooking broth
• 1 glass of red wine
• virgin olive oil
• Salt

Elaboration

1. Chop the onion and garlic. Cover the bottom of the pan with oil (I used the cocotte ) and fry both until the onion is transparent.
2. Add the red and green peppers cut into strips. We continue to fry the whole until the peppers get somewhat limp.
3. When the vegetables are ready, turn up the heat, make a hole in the center of the vegetables and add the minced meat. Sauté over high heat until the meat changes color.
4. Add the ground cayenne and give it a few turns. The amount of spicy is to the taste of the consumer, with this the stew is moderately spicy.
5. Let's then pour the crushed tomato and all the other condiments: honey, vinegar, red wine, cumin, oregano, nutmeg, allspice and cocoa powder.
6. Put the drained beans in their liquid and season with salt.
7. Stir well, add cooking liquid from the beans if the stew looks too dry, cover and let cook over low heat for about 45 minutes, making sure that the liquid does not run out. The stew can be left as brothy as one wants, although the classic thing is that it is quite thick.

You can see that this chili con carne is one of those recipes that everyone can like and that we can prepare in huge quantities to freeze and have reserves. In short, those dishes that we mothers and fathers who are dedicated to home management like. Bon Appetite.

Le Creuset oval cocotte , Emile Henry ceramic plates and Emile Henry ramekins