Our in house favourite chilli con carne

Chilli is nature’s way of storing up the heat of the sun – preserving it in the form of delicate peppers for you to dice up and add to your cooking whenever it’s dark and gloomy outside and all you need is a little bit of warm comfort. Rina, our pantry buyer shared her personal recipe for a wholesome chilli con carne with us, ready to be added to your Mexican food repertoire.

Ingredients:

Cooking time: about 1 hour | Serves: 8

2 large onions, chopped
4 large carrots, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
2 red peppers, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 fresh chillies, chopped
5 stalk thyme, leaves taken off
2 tsp cumin
3 tsp paprika
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cinnamon
1 kg mince
50 g tomato paste
2 cans chopped tomatoes
200 ml water
1 can chickpeas
2 cans red kidney beans
2 Tbsp cacao powder
50 g 90% dark chocolate, broken up
Salt & pepper
1 handful of coriander

For serving
Homemade guacamole
Grated cheddar
Sour cream

Method:

1. Fry the onions, celery, carrots, peppers and garlic on a low heat until soft.
2. Add all the spices and fry for another 5 minutes.
3. Add the mince and fry until all the mince is cooked through.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add the tomato paste, canned tomatoes and water and simmer for 40 minutes on a low heat.
6. Add the chickpeas, red kidney beans, cacao and chocolate and simmer for another 20 minutes.

7. Finally add in the chopped coriander and serve.

We hope you enjoy this delicious bowl of in house comfort. It really is a simple and delicious recipe that can easily be adjusted for a simple family meal or bulked up for more people. If you want to turn it into a bit of a chilli-non-carne, simply sub in the mince for lentils for an equally tasty vegetarian option.