My favourite chilli con carne

Name: My favourite chilli con carne
Total time: 5400 s
Yield: 4 -5 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil; 2 medium carrots, finely chopped; 2 medium onions, finely diced - I like to use red onions here; 2 celery stalks, finely diced; 2 peppers; 2 heaped tsp mild chilli powder; 1 heaped tsp smoked paprika (could use regular paprika if you don't have smoked); 1 tsp cinnamon; 0.5 tsp cumin; 0.5 tsp cocoa powder; dash brown sauce; dash smoked chipotle tabasco (could use regular or leave it out completely if you don't like it!); 500 g lean beef mince (5 or 10% fat seems to work the best); 400 g tin kidney beans,drained; 400 g tin chickpeas,drained (or other pulse such as cannellini, haricot or black beans); 500 g passata; 500 ml water (you may not need all of it so add a bit at time); salt and pepper to season; Optional to serve - tortilla crisps, sour cream, grated mozzarella,rice

Susy Wall @singing_chef

West Midlands, UK

We try not to eat too much red meat in our family for several reasons so, when we do, it has to be good! Like most home cooks, I've been making my own chilli for years and have added and taken away ingredients as I've perfected the taste we like. So, here is the recipe I use when I really need some comforting flavour and warmth. (I've also cooked this with half quorn mince/half beef or just 100% Quorn and its just as good!)

NB: If you don't want to use the oven, you can just leave it on the hob for as long as you have time for once the beef and veg are cooked - a good hour should do it but if you're in a rush, 30 mins should ensure its cooked through and tasty. I like cooking it in the oven as it seems to enrich the flavour and it means I don't have to keep an eye on it too much! Plus, it tends to produce a much thicker chilli.

#MyCookbook

Susy Wall @singing_chef

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Ingredients

30 mins hob & 1 hour oven

4 -5 servings

1 tbspolive oil
2medium carrots, finely chopped
2medium onions, finely diced - I like to use red onions here
2celery stalks, finely diced
2peppers
2heaped tsp mild chilli powder
1heaped tsp smoked paprika (could use regular paprika if you don't have smoked)
1 tspcinnamon
0.5 tspcumin
0.5 tspcocoa powder
dashbrown sauce
dashsmoked chipotle tabasco (could use regular or leave it out completely if you don't like it!)
500 glean beef mince (5 or 10% fat seems to work the best)
400 gtin kidney beans,drained
400 gtin chickpeas,drained (or other pulse such as cannellini, haricot or black beans)
500 gpassata
500 mlwater (you may not need all of it so add a bit at time)
salt and pepper to season
Optional to serve - tortilla crisps, sour cream, grated mozzarella,rice

Saved

Steps

30 mins hob & 1 hour oven

1

Heat the oil in a large pan (if you have it, use a pan that can be transferred directly to the oven with a lid)
2

Add all your chopped veg and cook over a low to medium heat for about 15 minutes until they are soft and starting to caramelise a little. You will need to stir them every few minutes to make sure they don't catch the bottom.
3

Now add the spices and sauces and coat the veg. Allow to cook for 2 minutes, stirring.
4

Add the mince and stir into the veg and spices. Turn up the heat a little so tat it cooks through. You will need to stir occassionally until it is just cooked through (5 minutes or so).
5

Add the pulses and stir through to mix well. Add the passata and stir again. Allow to cook for a few minutes with lid on.
6

Fill the passata carton with water. Add half of it to the pan and stir. If its looking very thin, dont add any more water yet. If the liquid isnt covering the mix, add some more water until it does. You can always add more liquid later when you check it.
7

Give it a really good stir and allow to simmer on medium for 5 minutes. If you're cooking the chilli on the hob, turn the heat down to low and leave the lid on for the first 45 minutes of cooking. Remove for the last 15 minutes and season well. If it's looking to thick, add a little more water at this point.
8

If you are oven-cooking the chilli, leave the lid on and transfer to a preheated oven (180˚ c). Cook for 45 minutes and then remove the lid for the final 15 minutes of cooking. Season well and stir before returing to the oven. Add more water if it needs it. If you prefer a thicker sauce you can turn the oven down to 160˚ c and leave for a little longer. You can experiment with how long you cook your chilli for to get it just how you like it!
9

Warm a shallow, wide bowl and place 2 good handfuls of tortilla crisps in the bottom. Place 2-3 large ladles of chilli on top of the crisps and serve with sour cream and grated mozzarella. Obviously you can also serve this with rice as the image shows or with a nice, crisp green salad. If you're watching your carb intake, I like to serve it with some large iceberg lettuce leaves - they are amazing filled with chilli and grated cheese and wrapped like a burito!