My CHILLI con CARNE..

The pound of minced beef sitting in the bottom of the fridge was insistently calling my name, so I finally paid some attention to it.  As the proud possessor of a hacking cough that made me sound like a 40-Woodbine-a-day girl, I was not in the mood to push the boat out – I just wanted something that was comforting, warm and wasn’t pasta (poor Mr Sat. Night has been doing the honours this past few days, and there appears to have been a lot of pasta..)

So, Chilli con Carne it was then – once again I was amazed to find that I hadn’t shared this one with you – it’s perfect for the dinner that’s on the table in about 30-45 minutes. I literally just throw everything (except for the kidneys beans) into the pot as I go along and wait for it to become magical. The addition of some warmed tortillas or garlic bread and a dollop of crème fraiche on top raises this weekday treat up a notch or two on the social scale.

It freezes like a dream, and is great for reheating, for convenient work lunches the next day.

EQUIPMENT:

• a medium/large saucepan, for the chilli
• a large saucepan, for the rice
• Boiling water

INGREDIENTS:

• 1lb/500g good quality minced beef    
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red or green chilli, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped                                   

 

 

 

 

 

• Glass of red wine
• Teaspoonful of cumin seeds
• Heaped teaspoon of ground cumin
• Heaped teaspoon of ground Coriander
• Heaped teaspoonful of dried Oregano
• beef stock cube (optional)
• 1 tin of tomatoes
• OPTIONAL: A couple of fresh Plum tomatoes, deseeded and finely chopped,  plus a small red Pepper , thinly sliced – also optional.
• 1 jar of Passata (mine was 350g)
• A dessertspoon of Sundried Tomato Puree
• A tin of red kidney beans.
• S+P, to season

TO SERVE:

• Basmati rice
• warmed tortillas/garlic bread/flatbread
• Crème fraiche (optional)
• finely chopped red onion/ grated cheese ( optional)

METHOD:

• Dry fry the cumin seeds until they become fragrant.

• add the chopped onion and minced beef and stir to break up the beef.
• Reduce the heat to medium, cover and leave to cook for 5 minutes or so.
• Add the red wine, oregano, ground cumin and coriander, and stir in.

• Finely chop the chilli and garlic, and add this.
• Stir again – the beef should be almost cooked at this stage, and all the added ingredients should be well mixed together.
• Crumble in the beef stock cube, if you’re using it.
• Add the tinned tomatoes, the Passata, and the sun-dried tomato paste.
• Then turn it down to a gentle simmer, and leave it. It’s ready to eat when you are..
• Add the red kidney beans about 10 minutes before serving.

 

I usually serve this in pasta bowls for simplicity.

Offer the bread, crème fraiche or other tasty morsels separately..

NOTES:

• I’ve made this, really successfully, as a vegetarian option by simply replacing the minced beef with Quorn mince and leaving out the beef stock cube. It’s a perfect dinner to cater for your vegetarian friend or family member, whilst feeding the rest of them at the same time.
• Check out my second-day Chilli – where I make my absolutely brilliant Oven Chips https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/my-latest-oven-chips/ – top it off with some of the Chilli sauce, sprinkle it  with grated Cheese, and finish it off with some Crème Fraiche, sliced Spring Onions and sliced avocado.. totally yum!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• If you’re in love with that all-in-one-pan vibe, why not try my other Chilli offering? My delicious – and it really is delicious – One Pot Beef and rice enchilada? https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/one-pot-beef-and-rice-enchilada/