Chilli con carne

The Mexican dish of chili con carne - very popular and loved in the US and throughout Europe and beyond. This simple dish is made with ground or minced beef, kidney beans, vegetables, spices and, of course, chili. It is a very tasty dish, and is often served with boiled rice, but you should also try it on a tasty baked potato, sliced lengthwise along with a spoon of soured cream.

It is also a dish that is ideally suited to freezing – cook up a large batch and freeze into suitably-sized portions. After a long day you only need to defrost your chili con carne, cook a portion of rice, et voila, you have a delicious and healthy (TV) dinner!

As you all know, I have a great interest in herbs and spices – as well as the punchiness that you get with spices such as chili, they can also be used to give a subtle and delicate flavor accent to a dish. Star anise is often used in sweet baked goods, fruit salads, compotes, etc, to deliver that subtle accent, but in this recipe, as odd as it may seem, it gives an incredible taste to the beef. Take my advice and be sure to use it - you might just like it!

A detailed recipe...

Ingredients:

150g red kidney beans (I use tinned kidney beans)

450g minced beef

3 tbsp olive oil for browning meat and onions

1 large onion, chopped

1 large star anise

1 large carrot, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped or crushed

1 green chili pepper, chopped finely

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp ground cumin

40 g of butter

300 g tomatoes (I used tinned tomatoes in their juice)

500 ml beef stock

Grated cheese or soured cream for serving

Serves 4 

Method:

First, warm up the frying pan (or saucepan as you wish) with 1 tbsp olive oil and fry the minced beef over high heat until brown. Transfer the browned beef to a dish and set aside (we will return it to the pan later with the rest of the ingredients).

To the same pan, add the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil and fry the chopped onions along with the star anise over a medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Add the chopped carrots, garlic and chili and fry everything together for about 10 minutes, and then add the tomato puree, chopped tomatoes, paprika and cumin, and continue to fry for a further 5 minutes.

Remove the star anise from the pan and discard - it is no longer needed.

Return the browned beef to the pan, add the butter and stock and mix well. Reduce the heat and loosely cover the pan with a lid, and cook for up to 50 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Chili con carne tastes better when it is cooked slowly on a low heat (it also tastes better the next day!).

At the end of the cooking time almost all the liquid will have evaporated. Season the dish with salt and pepper to your taste, and add the kidney beans, stir well and let the sauce cook for another 5 minutes.

Serve the chili con carne with rice, sprinkled with a little grated cheese or a spoonful of soured cream. I'm sure you will really like it!

Enjoy your meal!