A week from today, February 10, is World Pulses Day. This day was created by the United Nations in 2018, and although I have read few resolutions since law school, A/RES/73/251 proved worth studying. What is interesting is that it not only mentions why legumes are healthy for both humans and animals and that legume crops have nitrogen-fixing properties that contribute to a fertile soil. It is also explicitly stated that women are mainly responsible for growing legumes and it is emphasized how important it is to 'empower' them. Hear hear.
In fact, for health reasons alone, every day should be legume day. While the Dutch Nutrition Center still very sparingly advises eating legumes at least once a week, scientific research seems to indicate that it is much healthier to consume a (modest) portion of them daily. Legumes may contain just too little of two essential amino acids, but when you combine them with grains, which are rich in methionine and cysteine, you still get a complete protein package. When you combine legumes with fresh vegetables (or at least with vitamin C), they are also a good source of iron. In addition, they are also packed with fiber.
The reason I'm starting to talk about World Pulses Day this weekend, a week before it's due, is that it is the first Saturday of the month, a day on which we usually prepare a classic. And the list of requested classics has been waiting for a chili sin carne for some time now. So that's it today: chili. Let's just make something with legumes next week.
Chile has its origins in northern Mexico; the first descriptions of stews spiced with chili peppers date from the early sixteenth century. From here the dish made its way to southern Texas, where it was served at the end of the nineteenth century in so-called 'chili joints', simple eating places, often run by Mexican women (hear hear) who became 'chili queens' named. It was popular working man's food, hearty, nutritious and cheap, and every chili chef had her or his own, often secret, recipe.
Today, chili is the official dish of the state of Texas. Hundreds of chili competitions are held every year under the strict watch of The Chili Appreciation Society International (CASI). In addition, it is legally prohibited to put beans in it. And this fact brings us to that adjective sin carne. It is indisputable that chili was traditionally a meat stew, and it is not without reason that its full name is chili con carne. Beans are an addition from the early twentieth century, and about a hundred years later a chili with meat and beans also passes for authentic – well, except among the puritans of the CASI. But what if you leave out the meat completely?
This first happened in the 1960s and 1970s, a period when vegetarianism began to flourish. The innovative recipe was a hit with both meat abandoners and people who were no longer allowed to eat red meat by their doctors, and voilà, a new Tex-Mex classic was born: chili sin carne.
