From the Butcher's: Chilli Con Carne

As my regular readers will know, I recently ordered a meat box from The Fabulous Baker Brothers' butchery "Hobbs House" and have since set about the task of making the most out of the top quality meat it contained.

The box contained 350g of minced steak and as it felt like a waste to simply make one dish out of it I decided to split it in half. Recipe one is for my ultimate chilli con carne. A student staple made all the more exciting with the addition of chocolate and all the more economical and healthy by bulking it out with peppers and tomatoes. 

From a relatively small amount of mince I managed to get three decent portions out of the chilli and if you were to add a bit more mince (maybe 55g) it would easily feed a family of four.

This chilli has a truly authentic taste and a great depth of flavour. It uses spices and herbs found in almost every kitchen and it could not be simpler to make. The perfect mid week meal served simply with rice or, for a more elaborate weekend extravaganza, serve with tortillas, lettuce, sour cream and guacamole for a fiesta with your friends!


Chilli Con Carne
Serves 2-3

1/2 tbsp oil
175g minced beef
4 spring onions, finely diced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder
1 beef stock cube, dissolved in hot water
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
250g passata
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp sugar (OR a small cube - the size of your thumbnail - of dark chocolate)
tomato puree
410g can of red kidney beans

Put your pan on the hob over a medium heat. Add the oil and leave it for 1-2 minutes until hot (a little longer for an electric hob). Add the spring onions and cook, stirring fairly frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are soft, squidgy and slightly translucent. Tip in the garlic, red pepper, chilli powder, paprika and cumin. Give it a good stir, then leave it to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Turn the heat up a bit, add the minced beef 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.

Pour the beef stock into the pan with the mince mixture along with the passata. Tip in the oregano and sugar/chocolate and add a good shake of salt and pepper. Squirt in about a tbsp of tomato puree 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. You should 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 the 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, and relax. Leaving your chilli to stand is really important as it allows the flavours to mingle and the meat.

TIP: This chilli con carne freezes really well - pop portions into Tupperware boxes and microwave for around 5-8 minutes whenever you fancy some!