LinsFood's chilli con carne recipe, a delicious mix of minced beef in a rich tomato based sauce, with sundried tomato paste, kidney beans and peppers. Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Chilli con Carne

Is there much to say about Chilli con Carne that’s new? Everyone knows Chilli con Carne – the ubiquitous Tex Mex food, with beans, without beans, with meat (carne), without meat, the latter also known as chilli sin carne. Its origin is shrouded in mystery but one thing we do know is that it didn’t originate in Mexico!

Some legends give credit to the Lady in Blue, Sister María de Ágreda, of Spain, who had apparently dreamt up this “chilli soup” in one of her many trances and taught it to the Native Americans in the 17th century.

By the 19th century, it had become a huge staple on the Western frontier despite attempts to suppress it and of course, these days, it has become quite the common dish in many countries.

Grilled peppers on the right. I love using them in so many things instead of fresh

LinsFood’s Chilli con Carne

Everyone has their own different take on this very popular dish, some, unnecessarily more complicated than they need to be. This is our chilli recipe, simple and with sundried tomato paste.

And quite often, I use grilled and marinated peppers for a little bit more depth, like you see above.

A little chilli powder also lends some depth to the chilli but too much and all you get is a bitter after taste. So go easy and opt for fresh chillies to add heat.

With the usual suspects: avocado, lime and soured cream

When I first posted this recipe in the summer of 2014, I used one of the world’s hottest chillies in it: the Carolina Reaper.

We had a Reaper growing in the garden and well, the dish is called chilli for a reason, isn’t it? And when you’re growing the world’s hottest chilli, you have got to try the damn thing at some point, right?

So we did!

Ouch!

But it was good!!!

Kids, don’t try this at home!

How to Serve Chilli con Carne?

with tortilla

with rice (my personal favourite)

with any bread, be it flat, regular, baguette, focaccia

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Homemade Pumpkin Spice