The other night at dinner, I told a friend that I was planning on making chili. His response, "you mean, chili con carnie?"
I had no clue what he was talking about. Was it the British accent? Or was chili con carnie something I had never heard of? I explained I was making good ol' American chili. The type that you top with sour cream and cheese...where you ladle over chips.. where you pair with spaghetti. He looked at me just as confused - he had only had chili con carnie over rice. After a few back and forths, where I would repeat "chili" and he would again, questioningly ask me, "chili con carnie?", we pulled out the smart phone.
He typed "chili" into the search box, and to his credit, the search results all came up "chili con carne" (in my Californian accent, con "car-nay")! How did I manage to live in Texas, and be an avid chili lover (on fritos, with bread, in lasagna, on spaghetti, vegetarian, turkey style...) and not know it was actually called chili con carne?
After digging around a bit, here's what I've learned about chili:
- It's true, chili is also known as chili con carne
- The American sources (Food Network, Cooking Light, Southern Living, Taste of Home...) have recipes for "Chili"
- The British sources (BBC Good Food, Jamie Oliver, NHS Healthy Recipes, the Guardian...) have recipes for "Chili con Carne"
- In California, "carne" is "car-nay"
- In the UK, "carne" is pronounced "car-nie"
- Chili on spaghetti is a Cincinnati specialty, and not yet discovered by the British
- If you google "Best Chili in London", nothing comes up. No restaurants, no places to eat it.
Have I just found my idea for a food stall in London? Chili con carne on spaghetti, anyone?
You might think that I'm unqualified to share this recipe since I didn't even know the proper name it, but I promise, it's really delicious and healthy. It's based on this Whole Foods Colorful Chili Recipe. The main difference is that I haven't found much (any?) love for turkey here, so I've replaced it with ground beef (aka beef mince).
I'm curious about your experiences, and would really appreciate if you could please tell me in the comments below: 1) do you call the dish "chili" or "chili con carne", and 2) do you serve chili with any of the following, or something else: bread, rice, chips, pasta?
Chili Con Carne Recipe
Serves 4
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 500 g (1.1 lbs) beef mince
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 (400 g or 15 oz) can chopped tomatoes (or less for a more chunky chili)
- 1 cup diced white mushrooms
- 1 (400 g or 15 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (400 g or 15 oz) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 teaspoons chili powder, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon paprika
- spaghetti (as many servings as needed)
- sour cream
- shredded Cheddar cheese
In a large pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add in the onion and garlic, and cook until the onion is slightly translucent. Add in the beef mince and cook until the meat is brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add in the red peppers, green peppers, and mushrooms and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add in the tomatoes, cannellini beans, red kidney beans, chili powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, and salt. Bring the pot to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve over spaghetti and top with a generous spoonful of sour cream and a handful of shredded cheddar cheese.
Robert E. Lentz says
I grew up in in the DFW area. Mr. Martinez invented Tex-Mex back in 1918 and his restaurants are still open today and are called El Fenix. I've been a huge fan for 50 years.....yeah....that sounds crazy to me too...50 years! Here chili con carne is simply with meat (beef generally)....we serve it over enchiladas, tamales, in a bowl, over Fritos, on Nachos etc etc etc......sort of used as a gravy aside from a big bowl of Texas Red....add cheddar cheese and onions,,,,,,,,,most of what I call Tex-Mex seems to be primarily in Texas in a triangle of Dallas to Houston to San Antonio (SA is getting on the edge of the boundary).....never seen it with beans nor does a tomato come anywhere near the cooking process..........the food at El Fenix is exactly as I remember it as a child.....my grand-parents say the same thing....it's real deal Tex-Mex......I know it's just a taste thing but when I travel I am usually disappointed when I get served enchiladas with the red or green sauce over them.....when I visited Cincinnati I thought I was driving into chili heaven.......not chili as I know it anyway.......finally went to Wendys of all places (not really chili con carne either...but a little closer)....remember going into the Texas Valley (McAllen, Brownsville, Harlingen) NO TEX-MEX....go figure.........Mr. Martinez immigrated from Mexico .... so I guess he somehow fused traditional Mexican with Texican food...not sure how he did it...but it's FANTASTIC........anyway.....this is the best I can due from the Dallas area.....I hope somebody understands what I've been rambling about.
Robert E. Lentz says
This is fairly close to what I was talking about.
http://www.food.com/recipe/real-texas-chili-chili-con-carne-308422
Andrew says
I call it chilli con carne, and I usually have in with tortillas, with greek style yoghurt, diced tomatoes and some shredded lettuce or other green leafy veggies. Leftovers go well with rice. Or, in a pinch, between two slices of bread. And yes, it is awesome served with jacket potatoes!
Dan B says
Hi
Spanish Word Con Carnay means with meat.
We have been mixing chile con carnay with spaghetti for years Called it Chile Mac.
Hope this helps. Continue to enjoy it any way you like.
Katie Bryson says
How funny! Yep I've always called it Chilli Con Carne and had it with rice... but also love it on a jacket potato or with potato wedges. I'm also partial to it piled on top of nacho chips with cheese - yum! But i've never had it with spaghetti... but I reckon i'm going to give it a try as i'm sure it's totally delicious! Thanks for sharing with us for this month's Pasta Please :-)
Judy younger says
We had Chile last night and this morning I told my husband that I somewhere in the back of my mind I think Chile con carne was Chile over rice. So I started tearing on it and have found a few comments with it over rice.
Was surprised to see Chile and Chile con carne are the same! Also very interesting how many different ways it is made and served! Have done Chile and baked potato at Wendy's for a good reasonable, healthy meal .
Laura says
I'll eat chilli with rice, any pasta, a baked potato, in a pie...but now I really want to try it with toast or chips. And in my head it is chilli con carne but I abbreviate to chilli. Does that make me lazy?!!
colleen says
On crispy baked potato wedges or a baked potato... yum :)
Tina Jui says
Oh on a baked potato or potato wedges sounds delicious. I absolutely love baked potatoes! And actually, I've recently just learned that baked potatoes are called "jacket potatoes" here in the UK. What a clever name!
Mushrooms Canada says
My favourite is a bowl of Chili with toast. Mmm definitely a fall favourite! thanks for sharing your recipe and story...
-Shannon
Tina Jui says
Hi Shannon! Yes, I agree, Chili is really good with toast - and well, any sort of bread :)
Lindsey says
I eat chilli with lots of beans! Kidney beans baked beans with a baked sweet potato! Would recommend :-)
Tina Jui says
Sounds delicious on a baked sweet potato! I have never tried, but will have to next time. Thanks for sharing!
Sam Vance says
Cincinnati style chili is thin and all meat. No beans, tomato, or onion, but hints of cinnamon and chocolate. Served on spaghetti and topped with finely shredded cheddar cheese, it is called a 3-way. A 4-way adds red beans between the spaghetti and chili and a 5-way is a 4-way with the addition of onions on top of the chili.
Tina Jui says
Thanks for your input! As a fellow buckeye, my husband says you are right and that he really misses Skyline
Rachel says
I've been making a recipe I call chili, and not chili con carne even before I moved to America, as it is meat free. (Go figure!), and I'm surprised, because all English people I've met have known what I was making when I said I was making chili? I serve mine with soured cream, and either toasted pitta or tortilla chips, though I only started preferring it with chips in California. While I do find having it with rice and not by itself odd, that is nothing compared to the double take I just did reading your post. With spaghetti?! I think that is nuts!
Tina Jui says
It's delicious with spaghetti - give it a try and let me know what you think :) I think it's just a matter of naming convention - chili vs. chili con carne. Just little things I've been learning!