Chilli Con Carne James Martin Recipes

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.

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.

CHILI CON CARNE

Steps:

• If you are going to use the oven method, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• Chop up the onions and garlic in the food processor and fry in some olive oil until softened. Add the chili powder and cumin and a little seasoning.
• Chop up the meat in the processor and add to the pan, cooking it until slightly browned.
• Place the sun-dried tomatoes and chile in the processor with the oil and blend to form a paste. Add these to the beef with the tomatoes, cinnamon stick, and a wineglass of water. Season a little more, if need be.
• Bring to the boil, cover with greaseproof paper and a lid, then either turn the heat down to simmer and cook for 1 1/2 hours or transfer the pan to the oven for about 1 1/2 hours.
• Add the red kidney beans 30 minutes before the end of cooking time.

CHICKEN CHILLI CON CARNE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a casserole dish over a medium heat, and fry the onion and peppers for 10-12 mins, or until softened. Add the garlic, coriander stalks, ground coriander, cumin and chipotle paste, and fry for 2 mins more. Tip in the tomatoes, tomato pureé and stock, then add the cinnamon stick. Nestle the chicken thighs into the mixture, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 45 mins or until the chicken is tender. Remove the chicken from the casserole and transfer to a chopping board, then shred the meat off the bone using two forks.
• Return the shredded chicken to the pan, then tip in the black beans along with the liquid from the can, the drained kidney beans, vinegar and chocolate. Stir well to combine all of the ingredients and melt the chocolate, then turn the heat up to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 mins, or until the mixture has thickened slightly.
• Remove the cinnamon stick, season to taste and stir though most, or all of the coriander leaves (you can reserve a few leaves to scatter over at the end, if you like). Serve the chilli with rice or tortilla chips, topped with guacamole and soured cream, if using, and scatter over any remaining coriander.

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

ULTIMATE CHILLI CON CARNE

Steps:

• The day before, cut all the meat into small chunks - this will take at least 30 mins. In a spacious, heavy-based pan, fry the pancetta in the oil over a medium heat until it is crisp and the fat has melted.
• Stir the onions and garlic into the crisping pancetta and cook, stirring often, for 10-15 mins until soft.
• Cut the lemon into quarters lengthways, then remove the pithy core and seeds. Chop into small pieces (each with a bit of peel). Remove the pan from the heat and scoop the contents into a sieve, letting any fat drain back into the pan - and give some encouragement with a wooden spoon.
• Return the pan to the heat and brown the pork in the hot fat, then stir in the beef and brown that too. Add the chilli powder and cumin, and cook over a low heat for 2 mins, stirring constantly. Add the flour and cook for a further 2 mins. Add the bay leaves, 1/2 tsp salt, the lemon, oregano, tomato purée, red wine and stock. Return the onions to the pan. Bring to a simmer, stirring often, then reduce the heat and cook, uncovered, and stirring occasionally to avoid sticking, for 2 hrs until the sauce is thick and the liquid has reduced. Add salt to taste. Cool, cover and chill overnight. Can be frozen at this stage for up to 1 month - defrost overnight in the fridge before continuing with the recipe.
• Add the beans to the chilli and reheat. Serve with rice or couscous, a dollop of soured cream, slices of avocado tossed in lime juice, a splash of chilli sauce, sprinkling of coriander, and lime wedges, if you like.