Good Old Chilli Con Carne Food

GOOD OLD CHILLI CON CARNE

Steps:

• Peel and finely chop the onions, garlic, carrots and celery - don't worry about the technique, just chop away until fine. Halve the red peppers, remove the stalks and seeds and roughly chop.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large casserole pan on a medium-high heat, add the chopped veg, chilli powder, cumin, cinnamon and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then cook for 7 minutes, or until softened, stirring regularly.
• Drain and add the chickpeas and kidney beans, tip in the tomatoes, breaking them up with the back of a spoon, then pour in 1 tin's worth of water. Add the minced beef, breaking any larger chunks.
• Pick the coriander leaves and put aside, then finely chop and add the stalks to the pan, with the balsamic vinegar. Season with a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
• Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer with a lid slightly ajar for 1 hour, or until slightly thickened and reduced, stirring occasionally.
• Serve up with fluffy rice or couscous, a hunk of crusty bread, or over a jacket potato, with some yoghurt, guacamole, and wedges of lime on the side for squeezing over. Sprinkle over the reserved coriander, and some fresh chilli, if you like, then tuck in.

SPICY CHILI CON CARNE

Steps:

• Place oil in a large saucepan and cook the onions and garlic until soft.
• Add the beef, stirring with a fork to break it up until it looses its pinkness.
• Add all the ingredients - EXCEPT the beans. stir and simmer on low heat for 1 hour.
• Drain kidney beans, add to the beef and cook for a further half hour.
• Serve either in a bowl with crackers or with either rice or salads as an evening meal. Great to freeze.

OLD JOHN'S CHILI CON CARNE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in frying pan add one onion, the ground chuck, the 3 sliced cloves of garlic, 1 teaspoon each of cumin, paprika, tumeric and 1 tablespoon chili powder, saute until beef is browned and drain off the liquid/oil.
• Place drained beef and onion mixture into a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the remaining onion, the diced clove of garlic, the drained kidney beans and the tomato sauce and stir well.
• If the mixture is too thick, thin it with the reserved bean liquid or add another can of tomato sauce.
• Add the tomato paste, another TBSP each of the cumin, paprika and tumeric, 2 TBSP of cocoa powder and 2 to 4 TBSP of the chili powder. (sometimes, I'll use the entire jar) Cook until the onion is tender, stirring occasionally and thinning as desired with the reserved bean liquid.
• Add enough tomato ketchup to correct for the acid balance (see note above).
• Serve with grated cheddar cheese and sour cream if desired.