Some of you will raise your eyebrows when you hear me calling this a chili-con-carne like Alex just did, as this isn't a juicy stew like a regular chili-con-carne "should be". But as I enjoy experimenting and doing things my own way (OK I had forgot to buy those damn tomatoes), this one turned out a bit differently. Instead of a sauce filled with tomato purée which is frequently used in the traditional chili con carne to get a sweet and smooth consistence, mine is a more rough version. And instead of having the beans mixed with the meat, I cooked em' with the rice on the side.
My meat is prepared with chili pepper, garlic, onion and cumin as the original stew but in the shape of the spicy jerk seasoning. In case you don't know what that is, jerk is a seasoning very particular to these parts of the world. I think it originates from Jamaica but has later on spread all over the Caribbean diaspora and beyond. It is mainly used to bake chicken or pork, where the meat is dry-rubbed or wet-marinated in the characteristic, and very spicy, jerk seasoning.
Jerk seasoning is normally a mix of bonnet pepper flakes (one of the hottest peppers to find), cloves, cinnamon, scallion, garlic and salt. In my chili con carne, which no matter the result of the preparation, is a chili con carne, simply meaning: chili pepper with meat, you'll also find the wonderful flavor of thyme. You all know that I love my max-15-minutes-preparations and this meal is no exception.
You'll need:
minced meat
yellow onion
garlic
olive oil
salt
pepper
jerk seasoning
fresh thyme
white rice
canned red kidney beans (or if you have your own ones prepared, that's even better)
So I panfried a generous portion of garlic, some yellow onion and lastly the minced meat in a bit of olive oil. Sprinkled some salt, pepper, finely chopped fresh thyme and jerk seasoning into the pan. Added in a cup of water and left it to simmer for a while. Before this would have been a great idea to put the rice to boil. Normally I panfry my rice in the pan in oil and salt before I pour in the water. Throw in your beans into the rice and mix well. If you'd like you could cut in some garlic into the rice too. I live under the perception that the more garlic in your life, the better.
In about ten minutes you should have your meal done and chili dishes are always best served with an ice cold beer. This food is excellent to prepare more than what you need of it as after a day in the fridge it is even tastier when it has well soaked in all the good spices.
