Chilli Con Carne
An easy, storecupboard chilli con carne with red kidney beans, simmered until thick and juicy — great for a casual get-together.
Ingredients
- 1 large onion
- 1 red pepper
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder (or 1 level tbsp mild)
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 500g lean minced beef
- 1 beef stock cube
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 410g tin red kidney beans
- plain boiled long grain rice, to serve
- soured cream, to serve
Instructions
- Chop the onion into small dice. Cut the red pepper in half lengthways, remove the stalk and seeds, then chop. Peel and finely chop the garlic.
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring fairly frequently, for about 5 minutes until soft and slightly translucent.
- Add the garlic, red pepper, chilli powder, paprika and cumin. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Turn the heat up, add the mince and break it up with a spoon. Keep stirring and prodding for at least 5 minutes, until browned all over with no pink bits.
- Crumble the stock cube into 300ml hot water and pour into the pan. Add the chopped tomatoes, marjoram, sugar, a good shake of salt and pepper, and the tomato puree. Stir well.
- Bring to the boil, stir, then cover and turn down the heat until gently bubbling. Leave for 20 minutes, checking occasionally and adding a splash of water if it’s drying out.
- Drain and rinse the kidney beans, then stir them into the pot. Bring back to the boil and gently bubble without the lid for a further 10 minutes, adding a little more water if needed.
- Taste and season — it will likely need more than you think.
- Turn off the heat, cover and leave to stand for 10 minutes before serving with soured cream and rice.