Thursday, April 10, 2008

Chilli con Carne


















Here's a one-dish meal for the working week. You could freeze half of it to economise on stress at a later date. I love beefing it up with lots of veggies. As for the tea, you could either drink it, or, as I do, add it to the chilli! A cup of black tea or black coffee seems to work yummy wonders with this and other spicy, stewy meat dishes - the flavours steep and add a discernible musky note which you'll definitely appreciate a day or two later :)

Serve with a crisp salad and brown rice or wholewheat wraps, with a dollop of thick yoghurt and a sprig of fresh herbs on top. I have used a mixture of parsley and rosemary here, but it works beautifully with fresh coriander too. :D
  • 500g extra-lean minced beef
  • 2 large onions, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 large can tomatoes
  • chicken or beef stock, 1 cup
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1/2 tbsp chilli powder
  • 1 tbsp corriander, ground
  • 1 small can kidney beans
  • 2 medium carrots, grated
  • 1 courgette or zucchini, sliced into quarters
  • parsley
  • rosemary
  • 1 cup of strong breakfast tea made out of 2 teabags
  1. Saute the onions in 3 tbsp olive or canola oil till fragrant and lightly browned
  2. Add garlic, saute 1 minute
  3. Add chilli powder and ground coriander, stir till fragrant and spices are cooked
  4. Add the meat, stir till colour turns from red to brown
  5. Bung in tomatoes, kidney beans, grated carrot, tomato paste and tea
  6. Stir, leave to cook 40 minutes. Add stock as/when necessary
  7. Season, add zucchini, leave to cook another 10-20 minutes, adjust stock/liquid levels as needed
  8. At this point, divide and keep half aside for freezing if you wish
  9. Add half a handful of mixed rosemary/parsley which has been chopped, stir into the chilli, check seasoning
  10. Keep the other half of the herbs aside to garnish the dish before serving.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Preeeety, where did you get such yummy recipes? Are they your own? Grandma's? ;) Wish I could eat them off the screen!! haha.. keep them coming..

Diva Indoors said...

The kiddy curry ones are modified from my Grandma's :) But the rest are my own yes. Do try, lemme know how they turn out!

Anonymous said...

Sooo delish!! I've made lots of chillis before, but this tastes so fresh and the tea is brilliant. I know this recipe is supposed to make enough for a week, but I don't think my batch will last very long... :)

Diva Indoors said...

Thank you wallflower! I did mean to add that you can quite easily leave out the meat (for Chili Non Carne)or use a white fish instead, like haddock or tilapia (for Chili Con Pesce) ;)

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