Cincinnati Chili Spaghetti

Ingredients

• 1 green pepper, seeded and quartered
• 1 stalk of celery, cut into 1” pieces
• 1 cooking onion, quartered
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 3 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground cayenne
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• ¼ tsp ground pepper
• 3 dried bay leaves
• 1 can (796ml) crushed tomatoes
• 1 litre beef stock
• 2lb lean ground beef
• 300g spaghetti

Garnish

• 1 cup, minced white onion
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Add the green pepper, celery, onion and garlic into a food processor and pulse until you have a finely minced mixture.
2. Heat oil over medium heat in a heavy bottomed pot. Tip in the mixture from the food processor and cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables are softened and translucent. Add all the spices (chili powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, cocoa powder, cinnamon, cayenne, salt, allspice, cloves ground pepper and bay leaves) and cook, stirring for another minute.
3. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and beef stock and bring it to a slow simmer.
4. Lower the ground beef into the pot and use a wooden spoon to begin breaking it apart. Bring the mixture back up to a simmer and continue to break the beef into small bits. Cook, uncovered, for 45min, stirring occasionally. Discard the bay leaves.
5. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions until al dente. Drain well.
6. Place a portion of spaghetti into a bowl and top with the chilli. Garnish with cheese and white onions.