This week takes us a couple of oceans and several timezones widdershins around the globe in order to sample a frontier classic…
Finns have a tricky relationship with spicy food. Sure, you can find supermarket shelves stocked with Tex Mex style produce and a decent selection of hot sauces, chillies and salsas is within easy reach of most consumers. However, I’m pretty sure that it’s Finland’s foreign contingent that is creating the demand for these products, as your average Finn has the same tolerance to piquancy as they do to the sun – they like the idea of it, but are easily burned by the slightest exposure. Never fear. After doing a bit of research, I’d like to share with you my take on an authentic trail hand style chilli con carne with an easily adjustable Scoville rating to suit all palettes.
Chili con carne recipes are like heads – everybody has one – but the recognised chilli authorities agree on a few key ingredients when discussing the original make up of the dish. The main shock ingredient is fresh tomatoes -or the lack thereof. When thought about logically, trail hands wouldn’t have had access to fresh tomatoes when out wrangling and would therefore need another source of flavour and moisture. In fact, as bonkers as it sounds, freshly brewed coffee was often used and it certainly provides an amazing depth of flavour and a savoury note to your pot.
We’ll still be using minced beef – if you really want to be authentic you can used diced steak, but in terms of flavour and price minced beef is a more than acceptable substitute. Otherwise, it’s pretty much the same minimal fuss, easy to prepare dish that has been an American classic for over a century.
Ingredients
Olive oil
1.2kg minced beef
2 medium onions, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
750ml freshly brewed coffee
2 green chillies, 2 red chillies and optionally two habanero chillies.
1 tsp of toasted cumin seeds
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp chilli powder
2 fresh long green chillies
1 can of kidney beans
A glug of Smoky hot sauce (if you can find chipotle chillies all the better, otherwise use the smoky hot sauce)
Method
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a high heat and brown the minced beef. Cook the minced beef in batches if necessary and ensure the meat is a rich dark brown before moving on to the next batch. Next, turn down the heat to medium, add the onions and cook until slightly browned. Add the garlic and cook until both are softened. Add most of the coffee, season and adjust the heat until you reach a low simmer. Cover and cook for two hours.
In the meantime, slice your chillies vertically and deseed if you want a milder version of the dish. Finely slice and add one teaspoon of each chilli to a pestle and mortar along with a dash of salt, chilli powder and the toasted cumin seeds (if you have the chipotle chillies, use them instead). Grind into a paste/powder and add to the saucepan after two hours of cooking along with the remainder of the chillies. Leave the pan uncovered and continue to cook for another half an hour. Add the beans and smoky hot sauce 10 minutes before the end of cooking. Add the rest of the coffee if the pan begins to look dry. If possible serve after leaving overnight – the flavours will have time to infuse and become more complex.
Leftovers
As always with my dishes, the chilli can be frozen or left in the fridge for several days.
This one is a real gem, I promise you will be a chilli con coffee convert if you give it a whirl! Next week we’ll take a dip south of the border to tackle some yeast based origami…
John Cozzi
Food Dude: Urban Safari 