Prep Time 20 minutes - Total Time 4 hours - Serves 6
I feel like chilli tonight, do you?
I make my chilli using actual cuts of beef instead of mincemeat. Cook it low and slow so the beef is super tender. I just love the combination of the spicy beef with the cool and refreshing avocados and zesty lime juice.
If you love chilli con Carne but normally have it with minced beef give this recipe a go, you’ll love it and it will fill the house with amazing smells that will have the neighbours knocking.
(You will also find this recipe on page 28 of my book Richard’s Family Favourites click here)
Ingredients
1 large white onion.
1 large red pepper.
3 garlic cloves.
2 red chillies.
1 large bunch of fresh coriander.
1 tbsp of ground coriander.
1 tbsp of smoked paprika.
1 tbsp of ground cumin.
2 tbsps of oregano.
1 tsp of chilli powder (or add more if you like it really hot)
1 tbsp of tomato purée.
700 g diced beef.
2 tbsps of plain flour.
2 x 400g of tins of chopped tomatoes.
2 x 400g of tins of kidney beans.
1 beef stock pot.
1 tbsp of brown sugar.
40 g of dark chocolate.
1 bag of fresh limes.
Method
First start by preheating the oven to 160℃ then roughly dice the onion, pepper, red chillies and add to a large deep oven proof dish and start to soften in olive oil then thinly slice the garlic and add that to the dish. Get the fresh coriander and roughly chop all the stalks and throw that in as well. You want to slowly soften everything in the oil for around 7-10 minutes .
Once everything has softened add the smoked paprika, oregano, cumin, chilli powder and season with salt and pepper. Give everything a good mix then add the tomato purée and mix well again.
Next add your beef followed by the flour and mix well again.
Tip in both cans of the tomatoes, followed by the beef stock pot, the sugar then fill both empty cans of tomatoes with hot water and pour into the dish, you want enough liquid to just cover. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid and pop into the oven for around 2-4 hours. You want the liquid to reduce and the beef to fall apart when pushed against the side of the dish with a fork. Keep checking on the chilli every hour and if it starts to dry out before the beef is tender add a bit of water.
Add the drained kidney beans to the dish for the final hour of cooking.
Once the beef and kidney beans are nice and tender, take out of the oven and place to one side. Now roughly chop all the remaining fresh coriander (reserve some for garnishing), grate the chocolate and add to the dish and squeeze in a couple of the limes and give it a good mix, then take to the table.
I like to serve my chilli with rice, sliced avocado, sour cream, a sprinkle of coriander, some sliced red chillies, a couple of lime wedges plus a few tortilla chips.