Old Johns Chili Con Carne Food

JOHN'S CHILLI CON CARNE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/ gas 3. Heat a large cast-iron pot or saucepan over a high flame, pour in the oil, then drop in the onions, chillies, paprika and thyme. Cook for 5 mins until the onions soften. Add the celery, give it a stir and crumble in the stock cube. Stir again and cook for another 5 mins
• Add the beef, stir well, then colour for a few mins to coat the meat with the spices. Add the flour and coat everything with a more few stirs, then add the remaining ingredients, along with 1 tsp salt.
• Let it come to the boil, then put a lid on, place in the oven, reduce the temperature to 140C/120C fan/ gas 1 and cook for 4 1 /2 hrs.
• Take the pot out of the oven and remove the carrots, chop them into small chunks, then put them back in. I like plenty of sauce, but you may want to remove some if you don't want it too saucy - be sure to keep it, it's great on toast when cold. Remember to remove the chillies before you serve. Finally, scatter with coriander, if you like

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.

CHILLI CON CARNE RECIPE

Steps:

• Prepare your vegetables. Chop 1 large onion into small dice, about 5mm square. The easiest way to do this is to cut the onion in half from root to tip, peel it and slice each half into thick matchsticks lengthways, not quite cutting all the way to the root end so they are still held together. Slice across the matchsticks into neat dice.
• Cut 1 red pepper in half lengthways, remove stalk and wash the seeds away, then chop. Peel and finely chop 2 garlic cloves.
• Start cooking. Put your pan on the hob over a medium heat. Add 1 tbsp oil and leave it for 1-2 minutes until hot (a little longer for an electric hob).
• Add the onion and cook, stirring fairly frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft, squidgy and slightly translucent.
• Tip in the garlic, red pepper, 1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder or 1 level tbsp mild chilli powder, 1 tsp paprika and 1 tsp ground cumin.
• Give it a good stir, then leave it to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Brown 500g lean minced beef. Turn the heat up a bit, add the meat 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.
• Make the sauce. Crumble 1 beef stock cube into 300ml hot water. Pour this into the pan with the mince mixture.
• Add a 400g can of chopped tomatoes. Tip in ½ tsp dried marjoram, 1 tsp sugar and add a good shake of salt and pepper. Squirt in about 2 tbsp tomato purée 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.
• 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 a 410g 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. This is really important as it allows the flavours to mingle.
• Serve with soured cream and plain boiled long grain rice.

GOOD OLD CHILI CON CARNE

Steps:

• Place a large casserole over medium-high heat, and add 1/4 cup olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions, garlic, carrots, celery and red bell peppers. Stir, and add chili powder, cumin, cinnamon and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Stir every 30 seconds for about 7 minutes, until softened and lightly colored.
• Add the garbanzo beans, kidney beans, tomatoes and ground beef, stirring to break up the meat. Fill one of the tomato cans with water and then add the water to the pan. Coarsely chop the cilantro leaves and refrigerate until needed. Finely chop the stems and add to the pan. Add balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer, partly covered, for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Transfer to a warmed serving bowl or individual bowls, and garnish with cilantro leaves. If desired, serve with basmati rice, crusty bread, baked potato or couscous, accompanied by yogurt, guacamole and slices of lime.

CHILI CON CARNE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat.
• Add the meat and stir to break up the pieces.
• Cook, stirring, until the meat is brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes.
• Add the onion, green bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, Essence, salt, cumin, oregano, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 4 minutes.
• Put the whole tomatoes in a large mixing bowl and squeeze them with your hands to break them into pieces.
• Add the squeezed tomatoes and their juices, the tomato paste, sugar, and water to the pot.
• Stir well and bring to a boil.
• Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove the pot from the heat, ladle into a large bowl and top with the shredded cheese and serve with Crackers or tortilla chips.

JAMIES CHILLI CON CARNE

Steps:

• In a large pot, fry onions and garlic in a little olive oil until soft.
• Add chilli powder, fresh chilli, cumin and a little seasoning. Then add the meat and continue to cook, stirring, until it has browned.
• Process the sun-dried tomatoes in your food processor, with a little oil from the jar, enough to loosen into a paste.
• Add these to the beef with the tomatoes, cinnamon stick, and the water. Check the seasoning, and add more if you prefer.
• Bring to the boil, cover, turn the heat down and simmer for about 1 and a half hours.
• Add the kidney beans about 1/2 an hour before serving, they are already cooked and only need to be warmed through.
• Serving suggestions, steamed rice, crusty bread, a tossed salad, some guacamole or/and sour cream/yoghurt.

NEXT LEVEL CHILLI CON CARNE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Over a high heat, toast the whole chillies on all sides until you can smell them cooking, then remove and set aside. Keep the pan on the heat and toast the peppercorns, cumin seeds and coriander seeds until they just start to change colour, then grind to a powder using a pestle and mortar or spice grinder. Mix with the smoked paprika and oregano (this is a standard tex-mex seasoning), then set aside.
• Return the casserole to the heat, add half the oil and heat until shimmering. Fry the beef in batches, adding more oil if you need to, until it's browned on all sides, then set aside. Fry the onions in the pan over a low heat for about 8 mins until soft and golden, then add the garlic and cook for 1 min more. Working fast, add the meat and juices, the spice mix, tomato purée, peanut butter and coffee to the pan and cook for 2-3 mins, stirring to coat the meat until everything is thick and gloopy, then pour in the vinegar and stock.
• Add the toasted chillies back into the casserole, along with the bay leaves, cinnamon and some salt. Bring to a simmer and stir well, then cover with the lid and cook in the oven for 3hrs, stirring occasionally, until the meat is very tender but not falling apart. Take the casserole out of the oven, put back on the stove and remove the lid. Simmer the sauce for 5 mins, then stir in the semolina flour and simmer for 2-3 mins more. Finely grate over the chocolate, stir through with the beans and simmer for a minute more to heat through. Fish out the chillies, then leave everything to rest for at least 15 mins.
• Bring the pan to the table. Serve with bowls of accompaniments and the chilli paste (see tip below) to add heat.