So I’m going to level with you straight away, I don’t put kidney beans in my chilli con carne. I also cook it more like a traditional bolognese. You’ll just have to trust me on this. You don’t have to cook this dish for 6 hours, one will do, I just find the flavour so much deeper after time on the stove. We are really lucky in EN2 to have a couple of really good butchers (Smiths and Norman’s are the two I use) as well as Botany Bay farm shop. Get your mince from one of these places, it’s the same price but so much nicer than what you get in the supermarket, plus you’ll be supporting local businesses. You can play around with the dried herbs and spices but I’ve cooked this a few times now and I’ve settled on this recipe. The addition of the fresh coriander at the end of cooking adds some lovely freshness to the dish, give it a go!
Serves: 4
Cooking time: approx 6-7 hours
INGREDIENTS:
- 500g good quality beef mince
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 250ml full-bodied red wine
- beef stock cube
- Tin chopped tomatoes (400g)
- Worcester sauce
- 1 tsp Hot chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- Bunch of fresh coriander
- Rice to serve
- Sour cream to serve
METHOD:
Start by frying off the red onion until soft (about 10 mins) then add the minced beef (500g), season with salt and brown all over. Add in the minced garlic (4 cloves) stir for a few minutes before adding the spices (1 tsp hot chilli powder, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 cinnamon stick). Give the spices a stir for around a minute before adding the beef stock cube followed by the red wine (250ml). Bring the mixture to the boil and add the tin of tomatoes and a good shake of Worcester Sauce. Bring to the boil and simmer.
Pick the leaves off the coriander stalks and reserve the leaves for later. Chop the stalks and add them to the chilli. This can now sit on the hob for 6-7 hours, stirring every so often. You’ll probably need to top it up with water every so of. It should go a deep, rich colour and the taste is amazing. When you’re ready to serve, cook the rice and add the coriander leaves to the chilli pan, stir them through. Serve the chilli with the rice and sour cream, enjoy!
