Good old chilli con carne

I think chickpeas are perfect in this dish, but butter beans or even cubed potatoes will work well in their place. Feel free to pep up this dish with more chilli depending on your taste. This will make enough for six portions, so simply freeze the extra if you’re only cooking for four.

serves 8

Ingredients

• • 2 medium onions
• • 2 cloves of garlic
• • 2 medium carrots
• • 2 sticks of celery
• • 2 red capsicums
• • olive oil
• • 1 heaped teaspoon chilli powder
• • 1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin
• • 1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon
• • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• • 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas
• • 1 x 400g tin of red kidney beans
• • 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
• • 500g good-quality minced beef
• • 1 small bunch of fresh coriander
• • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• • natural yoghurt, to serve
• • guacamole, to serve
• • 1 lime

To make the chilli

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• Peel and finely chop the onions, garlic, carrots and celery – don’t worry about the technique, just chop away until fine
• Halve the red capsicums, remove the stalks and seeds and roughly chop
• Place your largest pan on a medium high heat

To make the chilli

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• Add 2 lugs of olive oil and all your chopped vegetables
• Add the chilli powder, cumin and cinnamon with a good pinch of salt and pepper
• Stir every 30 seconds for around 7 minutes until softened and lightly coloured

To make the chilli

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• Drain and add the chickpeas and kidney beans, along with the tinned tomatoes
• Add the minced beef, breaking any larger chunks up with a wooden spoon
• Fill one of the empty tomato tins with water and pour this into the pan

To make the chilli

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• Pick the coriander leaves and place them in a bowl in the fridge
• Wash and finely chop the stalks then stir in
• Add the balsamic vinegar and season with a good pinch of salt and pepper

To make the chilli

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• Bring to the boil and turn the heat down to a simmer with a lid slightly askew for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every now and then
• Take the lid off and cook for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally
• Keep an eye on it as it cooks, and if you think it’s starting to dry out, add a splash of water

To serve your chilli

• This is fantastic served with rice (see Fluffy rice)
• Just divide the rice and chilli into big bowls or serve in the middle of the table and let everyone help themselves
• If you don’t fancy rice it’s equally good with a nice hunk of fresh crusty bread, over a jacket potato or with couscous
• Put a small bowl of natural yoghurt, some guacamole and a few wedges of lime on the table, and sprinkle the chilli with the coriander leaves
• I love to add a nice green salad (see Simple green salad with French dressing) to round it off