my Chill Con Carne

There are a lot of chilli con carne recipes out there, often with wide ranging ingredient plus a couple of exotics like chocolate or coffee. I wanted to get back to what a more simple traditional dish may have been like. It seems to shout out for a slow cook pot. So here is my take on it.

Ingredients
1kg Shin of beef
lard or oil
500gm dried red kidney beans
3 onions sliced
3 cloves garlic sliced
I red pepper
3 red chillies
bunch fresh coriander leaves
1.5 pint good stock
2 tspn ground cumin
2 tspn dried oregano
salt and pepper
1Tbspn treacle
6 plum tomatoes

First off soak the kidney beans over night. Wash and drain until water runs clear then put them on the stove, bring to the boil, and this is important, rapid boil for at least ten minutes.
Meanwhile cut the shin into a small dice. Most recipes call for mince, for one you never know what is in 'mince' and secondly I wanted to get more texture out of the beef. Put about two tablespoons oil in a pan over a high heat fry off the beef in batches until the moisture is driven off and the meat just begins to colour. Transfer to the cookpot and carry on with the next batch, adding more oil as needed. Drain the kidney beans, rinse well, then add to the meat in the cookpot

When the meat has browned and transferred into cookpot, reduce pan to low heat, put in the onion and garlic slices, stir and let them sweat. They will take on colour from the meat but do not brown them.

 

Cover and leave on the low heat until softened.

Prepare the peppers and chillies, deseed then medium chop. Cut the old ends of the coriander and fine chop about four tablespoons of stalks and leaves. 

When onion and garlic has softened but not coloured, turn heat up high, drive of any moisture then and put in the peppers, chille, cumin and oregano, stir and leave for a few moments.

 

Now add about 1.5pints of a good stock and the coriander, let it come to the simmer and leave for a couple of minutes.

Mix the meat and the kidney beans together then add the stock, spices, peppers, chillies and coriander.

The liquid should just about cover the beans, add a little more if necessary. To ensure the beans cook thoroughly I have kept the water level high and I set the cooker onto high for eight hours. This was too long and six hours should be sufficient, depending on how old your beans are.

Halfway through the cooking time, give the pot a good stir and reduce to the low setting for the remainder time. Test for tender beans and meat that falls apart in your mouth or give a little longer cooking. Drain the juice out of the cookpot and transfer into a pan, reduce over a high heat adding a tablespoon of treacle. As the juices reduce and thicken the chillie heat will amalgamate and blend to a degree. Take off heat when reduced to about two cupful's.

Coarsely chop six plum tomatoes and a few more coriander leaves.

Add to the cookpot the tomato, coriander with the reduced juices, give a good gentle stir, leave to warm for half an hour. Then enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 





 

 

 

 

 



 

Chick Pea medley - variation

So I prepare a lot of hummus and like to keep some of the chick peas back to serve as a vegetable. As a variation on my Sautéed Chick Pea  or my Chick Pea Medley try this one.

About half pound of chick peas and sufficient cooking liquor to cover. Prepare all in advance. Coarsely chop a medium onion and put into a pan with Tblspn of olive oil. Gradually turn up the heat as the onion sweats off, then take off lid and dry off, turning until the onion is golden, not brown. Heat to high.

1/8 tspn cumin, cayenne, 1/4 tspn coriander, 1/2 tspn paprika, turmeric, salt and pepper. Stir, throw in stalk of celery small chopped, and one red pepper seeded and coarsely chopped. Stir, than ladle in some cooking liquor, dry off, continue until all the liquor is used up then put in the chick peas, turn until dried off again. Stir, lower heat to a simmer, put in 1/2 dozen cherry tomatoes with cut cross tops, cover until tomatoes just begin to wilt. 

Put in 3Tblspn coarsely chopped parsley and the juice of a lime, stir and serve. 

 

There, remembered the photo this time, it tastes as good as it looks.

Sauteed Chick Pea

Take 200g of pre-cooked chick peas and their cooking liquor, set aside.

Evenly medium chop one large onion and sweat off in a pan over a gentle heat in 1Tblespn of olive oil and 30g of butter. Take your time. When soft and translucent turn heat up to medium, keep stirring occasionally until the onion is evenly golden brown You cannot rush this as you will end up with burnt bits.

Turn heat up to high and quickly put in 1/2tspn coriander powder, 1/8thtspn cumin and 1/4tspn of turmeric. Stir around and blend without letting it catch and burn. Put in the drained chick peas, stir around and coat them with the spices and onion. After a minute loosen with 1Tblespn of liquor, stir, dry off liquor, repeat a few times, turn down heat to very low, add a cup of liquor, cover and let barely simmer for 15 minutes.

Turn heat up to medium and drive off any remaining liquor, add eight coarsely chopped hot bell-peppers, 2 Tblespn of chopped parsley and the juice of 1/2 lime. Adjust seasoning and serve.

A very attractive colourful dish, mildly flavoured and with a sweet overtone.