Chilli Con Carne
Serves 4
- 1 large onion
- 1 red pepper
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder (or 1 level tbsp if you only have mild)
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 500g lean minced beef
- 1 beef stock cube
- 400g can chopped tomatoes
- ½ tsp dried marjoram
- 1 tsp sugar (or add a thumbnail-sized piece of dark chocolate along with the beans instead, see tip)
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 410g can red kidney beans
- plain boiled long grain rice, to serve
- soured cream, to serve
- Prepare your vegetables. Chop 1 large onion into small dice, about 5mm square.
- Cut 1 red pepper in half lengthways, remove stalk and wash the seeds away, then chop. Peel and finely chop 2 garlic cloves.
- Start cooking. Put your pan on the hob over a medium heat. Add 1 tbsp oil and leave it for 1-2 minutes until hot.
- Add the onion and cook, stirring fairly frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft, and slightly translucent.
- Tip in the garlic, red pepper, 1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder or 1 level tbsp mild chilli powder, 1 tsp paprika and 1 tsp ground cumin.
- Give it a good stir, then leave it to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Brown 500g lean minced beef. Turn the heat up a bit, add the meat to the pan and break it up with your spoon or spatula. The mix should sizzle a bit when you add the mince.
- Keep stirring and prodding for at least 5 minutes, until all the mince is in uniform, mince-sized lumps and there are no more pink bits. Make sure you keep the heat hot enough for the meat to fry and become brown, rather than just stew.
- Make the sauce. Crumble 1 beef stock cube into 300ml hot water. Pour this into the pan with the mince mixture.
- Add a 400g can of chopped tomatoes. Tip in ½ tsp dried marjoram, 1 tsp sugar and add a good shake of salt and pepper. Add about 2 tbsp tomato purée and stir the sauce well.
- Simmer it gently. Bring the whole thing to the boil, give it a good stir and put a lid on the pan. Turn down the heat until it is gently bubbling and leave it for 20 minutes.
- Check on the pan occasionally to stir it and make sure the sauce doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan or isn’t drying out. If it is, add a couple of tablespoons of water and make sure that the heat really is low enough. After simmering gently, the saucy mince mixture should look thick, moist and juicy.
- Drain and rinse a 410g can of red kidney beans in a sieve and stir them into the chilli pot. Bring to the boil again, and gently bubble without the lid for another 10 minutes, adding a little more water if it looks too dry.
- Taste a bit of the chilli and season. It will probably take a lot more seasoning than you think.
- Now replace the lid, turn off the heat and leave your chilli to stand for 10 minutes before serving. This is really important as it allows the flavours to mingle.
- Serve with soured cream and plain boiled long grain rice.
A MEXICAN TWIST
Rather than add the teaspoon of sugar, you can
stir in a small piece of chocolate (about the size of your
thumbnail) when you add the beans. Any plain dark chocolate will do.
Be careful not to add too much – you don’t want to be able to
identify the flavour of the chocolate.