Superbowl Eats - Cincinnati Bengals edition

Nobody saw this coming. Perennial laughingstocks the Cincinnati Bengals are the AFC Champions and are heading to this year's Superbowl.

The Bungles.

A team that went fourteen years without a winning record, or making the playoffs; a team where head coaches and top draft picks went to waste their time and talent; a team that even the Cleveland Browns thought was a joke. But this year, things were different. This Cincinnati Bengals team was led by Joe Burrow, the winner of the 2019 Heisman Trophy and the 2020 college football playoff National Championship. Together with former college teammate Ja'Marr Chase, this Bengals team ended one of the longest active playoff droughts in all professional sports by winning their first playoff game in 31 years against the Las Vegas Raiders. This Bengals team then went to Tennessee to upset the #1 seeded Titans for their first-ever road playoff victory, and shock the #2 seeded Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City the following week. This Bengals team has a feisty swagger surrounding it as they head to L.A. to face the Los Angeles Rams. If you like rooting for this underdog, celebrate with some Cincinnati Chili, a soupier version of traditional chili, served over spaghetti and topped with diced white onion and lots of shredded Cheddar cheese. It can also be served with oyster crackers or slathered over a hot dog. As improbably as it is to long-time NFL fans, this soon could be the Meal of Champions.

Ingredients

1 kg lean ground beef
1 L beef stock
1 796 mL can crushed tomatoes
500 g shredded Cheddar cheese
300 g dry spaghetti
250 g minced white onion
45 g chili powder
30 mL vegetable oil
15 g ground cinnamon
15 g cumin
15 g smoked sweet paprika
15 g unsweetened cocoa powder
2 g salt
2 g ground cayenne
2 g allspice
1 g ground cloves and pepper
1 g pepper
3 cloves garlic
3 bay leaves
1 sweet green pepper, seeded and quartered
1 stalk celery, cut into chunks
1 onion, quartered

1. Combine the green pepper, celery, onion, and garlic in a food processor; pulse until everything is finely minced.
2. Heat the oil over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the minced vegetable mixture and cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables are softened and translucent. Add the chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, smoked paprika, cocoa powder, salt, cayenne, allspice, cloves, pepper, and bay leaves; cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
3. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and beef stock and bring everything to a gentle simmer. Add the ground beef and return to a simmer, using the back of a spoon to break up the meat into small chunks.
4. Reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chili is thickened and all the flavours are blended. Discard the bay leaves.
5. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions until al dente. Drain well. Divide the spaghetti among shallow warmed serving bowls and top with chili. Garnish with cheese and white onions.