Making Chili Con Carne From The Lowlands

I had a fabulous time visiting the Netherlands a couple of years ago and picked up a couple of very interesting ideas for preparing food. I still receive parcels from there every so often and one of these parcels included some lovely ideas for making Dutch variations of international favourites. I share the recipe for making Chili Con Carne in today's blog, but also tell you a little more about some lesser known gems to discover if you ever make your way over there.

You will need an onion and a fresh paprika. If you can't find paprika, you can use a sweet red pepper, but I recommend searching for the paprika instead.

Finely chop your veggies and fry in a pot in a little bit of heated oil.

Add about 300 g of mince meat, called gehacktes in Dutch. Fry until done.

I now added my mix of chili con carne that I received from friends. If you do not have access to Dutch friends, add a teaspoon crushed garlic, a fresh chopped chili (or 1/2 teaspoon dried chili), salt and pepper to taste.

You can dissolve the mix in 200 ml water beforehand, or simply add it and the water separately. This will not make much difference to the dish. If you are not using the packet, you can thicken your dish with a flour and water paste if it is too runny. Stir the mix into the mince.

Add a tin of baked beans in tomato sauce to the pot. Simmer for about 5 minutes on low heat.

Stir the baked beans in and serve hot with some tortillas, or fried rice. This is a brilliant recipe to use with nachos as well.

It was right in the middle of the South African Winter when I made my way over to the Netherlands to visit with some friends during their long, lazy summertime. I used their house in the rural area of Hemen/Dodewaard as base for exploring the country and fell in love with the area. In this first picture you can see a guest house.

This is round about 11 at night when the sun finally started making preparations for departing.

The farms in this area are responsible for this harvest and it would be difficult to find more deliciously sweet berries.

It is also the end of their school year and you will note this curious sight at a number of houses. The teens who are finishing school literally hang up their book bags!

There is the quiet town in all its splendour, comfortably nestled in the surrounding fields and farmland.

Even the trees throw their arms wide to welcome inhabitant and visitor alike.

On an overcast day, you will not find better photo opportunities than here.

This is the scene that greeted me as I returned by train from a day's explorations. Do you understand why I left my heart in this tiny settlement?

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy the books here:
You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.

Jy kan Kom Ons Teken en Verf Tuinstories hier koop.
Jy kan Kom Ons Kleur Tuinstories In hier koop.
Jy kan Tuinstories hier koop.
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