Whether you like burritos or nachos or simply chilli spooned over rice, this recipe will win you over and that’s a promise! Yes, there’s a lot of ingredients. And yes, it takes quite a long time to cook. But it’s not particularly complicated and it’s a fabulous recipe to make when you’re cooking for a bunch of people. Plus it freezes brilliantly so you can double the recipe and freeze half for a super-quick mid-week meal.
Chilli Con Carne
{Serves 4-6 ; Freezer-friendly}
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 600-700g beef mince
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tspn ground cumin
- 1 tspn allspice
- 1/2 tspn ground cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tspn dried oregano
- 1-2 red chillies, finely chopped (if you don’t like much heat, use 1 chilli and de-seed it first)
- 1/4 tspn paprika
- 1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tin diced or crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 400g tin red kidney beans, drained
Method
In a large saucepan, heat the oil over a medium heat and sauté the onion and mince until the mince has browned then add the garlic, cumin, allspice, cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, oregano, chilli and paprika. Stir really well and cook for a minute or two.
Add the vinegar, tomatoes, brown sugar and 400ml of water. Bring to the boil then turn the heat down to low and cook, covered, for 2 hours. Stir occasionally.
Stir in the red kidney beans then cover the pan again and cook for a further hour, stirring occasionally. If the chilli is looking a bit dry then add some water. It should have a thick consistency – if it’s too wet then the mixture will soak through tortillas or corn chips.
Season with salt and pepper then serve however you like – over steamed rice, with corn chips or soft tortillas, guacamole, fresh tomato salsa, shredded lettuce, grated cheese and sour cream.
