Chilli Con Carne

Chilli Con Carne

A long time staple in our house and absolutely one of our favorites.  (ok, I'll give up trying to override the spell checker now, sorry for those Aussie readers!)

I usually serve this with rice and a salad, but it can be re-invented later in the week rolled up in a burrito or taco, dolloped over a gourmet spread of taco chips with fresh coriander and cherry tomatoes or piled high in a bowl and eaten with fresh bread.  So I would definitely suggest you double the recipe and freeze some in smaller containers for another day.  It is also a good one to transfer to the slow cooker before an evening of harried after school activities so you can dish up as soon as you come in.  Make it as spicy (or not) as you need so the kids can enjoy it as well.

Ingredients:

2 x 400g/14oz tins of tomatoes

1 x 400g/14oz tin of red kidney beans, drained

455g/1lb chuck steak, minced or roughly ground

1 large onion, diced (or blitz them in a food processor/bamix)

1 clove of garlic

extra virgin olive oil

2 tspns chilli powder

1 fresh red chill, deseeded and finely chopped

1 heaped tspn of ground cumin

1/2 stick of cinnamon

200g sun-dried tomatoes in oil, (blitzed) or 1 tin of tomato paste

sea salt and ground pepper

If you want to be a little 'deceptively delicious' you could also add a good amount of pureed carrot and/or finely grated zucchini to this to give it a vegetable content.

Method:

I like to cook this in the pan to brown the meat and get the juices going and then transfer it to a slow cooker to let the flavor intensify and also to benefit me at the end of the day by having the meal ready to dish up.

• In a non-stick pan, eat the oil and add the onions, fry until soft. 
• Add the garlic, then chilli powder, fresh chill, cumin and a little seasoning.
• Add the beef and cook until it's browned.
• Add the sun-dried tomatoes or tomato paste, (using sun dried tomatoes makes it incredible!) tin tomatoes and cinnamon stick and a good glass of water.
• Transfer to the slow cooker at this point and continue to cook on low for 6+hours or on high for 3-4hrs.
• Ideally, add the kidney beans approx 30mins before you want to eat so they don't get too mashed up, they are cooked already so they just need to be warmed through.

one serving suggestion:  'gourmet' nacho's are great for a friday night casual dinner or when friends drop in!

how we eat it most times... with a drop of sour cream and some fresh coriander on top, rice mountain on the side and a great big salad!