Chilli Con Carne

Note to self, if you are having a dinner party make sure you have all the ingredients required to make the dish. Thank goodness for kind neighbours.

We have had a revival of Chilli con Carne in our house. After years of making Spaghetti Bolognaise I decided to have a change and found that the kids loved this dish. This version is called the "best ever chilli" from Olive Magazine. You use steak instead of mince and I think it's worthy of a dinner party, especially on a cold snowy night. It's got a lot of ingredient's , but I assure you the finished result is worth it.

The overall cooking time of this chilli seems quite long, but you just leave the dish on the hob to simmer away. This would also work well in a slow cooker. The dish can be made in advance and reheated when needed. It's a great dinner party meal as it can be simmering away when guests arrive and the only thing left to do is cook some rice. I served it with some sour cream and fresh coriander sprinkled on top. I do need some advice where cooking rice is concerned. Mine was overdone and soggy!

  

Ingredients 
(serves 6)
2 large onions, peeled and chopped (I used 1)
Olive Oil
2 fat garlic cloves , crushed
2 red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
1.2 kg lean braising steaks, cubed
175g chorizo, diced
3 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp hot chilli powder
½ tsp dried oregano
600 ml beef stock
2 tbsp malt vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 x 400g tin red kidney beans or black beans, drained and rinsed
50g 70% dark chocolate, chopped
soured cream to serve

Method

Heat 2 tbspn of olive oil in a wide casserole dish and add the onions, cook until soft but not coloured.  Add the garlic and chillies and cook for a minute.  Spoon the mix from the pan onto a plate.

Heat another tbspn of olive oil and brown the beef in batches then scoop out.  (this is worth the extra effort) add the diced chorizo and quickly brown all sides.  Return the beef to the pan and add the onion mix then add the tomato puree and the spices.  Cook for 1 min then add the stock, vinegar , sugar and tomatoes, Season and stir well and bring to the boil.  Reduce the heat to a very gentle simmer, cover with a tight fitting lid and leave to cook on the hob for one and a half hours, or until the beef is tender.

Add the drained kidney beans and leave to cook for another 30 min. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until melted and smooth (I did put this in as I had some, but I don't think it's essential).