Chili Con Carne
Salivated over by Samuel* (Lead guide)
INGREDIENTS
500g lean ground beef
1 large onion, diced small
1 red pepper, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon oil
1 heaped teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 beef stock cube
400g can chopped tomatoes
½ teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons tomato puree
410g can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
plain boiled long grain rice, to serve
Sour cream, to serve
Time
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Serves
4
Storage
Keeps well in the refrigerator 3 - 4 days and reheats beautifully
METHOD
Add some heat. To a medium-heat pan add the onion and cook for around 5 minutes until softened and slightly translucent, stir frequently. Add the garlic, red pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika and cumin. Give it a good stir and then leave to cook for another 5 minutes.
Beef it up. Increase the heat slightly so that the pan sizzles when you add the beef ground to it. Stir the ground through til it is completed integrated and the ground is in uniform, medium sized clumps and completely browned.
Get saucy. Crumble the beef stock cube into 300ml hot water. Pour this into the pan with the beef ground mixture and then add the chopped tomatoes, basil, sugar and a good shake of salt and pepper. Finally, add the tomato puree and stir the sauce well.
Simmer. Bring the whole thing to the boil, give it a good stir and put a lid on the pan. Reduce the heat until it is gently bubbling and stir occasionally whilst simmering for the next 20 minutes. If it begins to dry out or starts to sticking/catching on the bottom of the pan, add a couple of tablespoons of water and make sure the heat is low enough.
Stir in the red kidney beans and bring mixture back to the boil, let it gently bubble without the lid for another 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat, replace the lid and let sit for 10 more minutes before serving.
Serve. Serve over rice.
Notes from Samuel: I sub the dried marjoram with 1 teaspoon of dried basil and instead of 300ml of hot water for the stock, I only use 250ml.
The original recipe only calls for 2 garlic cloves and 2 tablespoons of tomato puree which I have increased to 3 of each and also only calls for a teaspoon each of cumin and paprika, but I have doubled this. In place of chili powder I use 1 heaped teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
Finally, I simmer for 30 minutes minimum before adding the red kidney beans.
Look to local farms and butchers for your meats.
Check out what foods are in season in BC when HERE.
Another great way to ensure you're using seasonal produce is to subscribe to a CSA Box with a local farm and structure your meals around the seasonal produce you've received that week!