This is a late post today, and I apologise for that; I’ve been juggling all sorts of activities and I’m thankful that I can still keep my eyes open as I write. Today I want to introduce you to a dish I came across almost by accident. Once upon a time, when nobody could stomach my macaroni and cheese anymore (through no fault of mine, I mean it was delicious, but…) we had to spice it up somehow. My dad bought a can of chilli con carne, and I must say, it was love at first taste. Chilli con carne is literally “pepper with meat”. It’s a sauce made of chilli peppers, beef, tomatoes and beans. It can be seasoned in various ways. Keep reading as I show you how it is made.
Ingredients.
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 large onion
- 1 red pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 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 ( I think Knorr makes some of these)
- 400g tomatoes, chopped
- ½ tsp dried marjoram (You can use basil or thyme instead)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 410g can red kidney beans
Procedure
1. Start with the vegetables. Chop the onions, peppers and garlic. Make sure to take the seeds out of the pepper.
2. In a hot pan of oil, cook the onions till soft and translucent. Pour in the garlic and pepper. Stir until slightly aromatic. Now pour in the chilli powder, paprika and cumin till evenly coloured and aromatic. This should take about 5 minutes.
3. In a separate pan, brown the beef mince. Pour the browned meat into the chilli mix and allow it to infuse the flavour of the mix, stirring constantly so that it doesn’t stick to the pan.
4. Dissolve the beef stock cube in 300ml of water. Pour this into the mix. Put in the tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar, marjoram(or whatever you decided to use) and season with salt and pepper to your taste.
5. Slowly bring the stew to the boil. When it starts boiling, turn down the heat and leave to simmer; stirring occasionaly to sto it from sticking to the pot. You can pour in some water if you think it’s getting too thick.
6. Drain the can of beans, rinse them out and pour into your chilli mix. Bring the mixture to the boil and ensure that the beans get cooked properly. Check the stew for taste, and season as you like.
7. Simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to stand for another 10 minutes so that all the flavours mix.
8. Serve with pasta, rice, boiled potatoes or even bread.
