Chilli con Carne
Simple and delicious. I used to over complicate this massively until Carolina showed me a much better way.
Ingredients
- 500 g mince beef
- 1 medium onion
- 1 can kidney beans
- 1 can plum tomatoes
- 2 tsp garlic granules or 4 finely chopped cloves of garlic
- 2 tsp paprika powder
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp salt
Substitutions
- Beef → turkey, chicken, lamb or combination
- Kidney beans → black beans or chickpeas
- Spices → taco seasoning
Instructions
- Fry the mince first, no oil, just the pot and the mince. Have the pot on medium heat.Yep, none of this frying the onions then the garlic and so on.Break up the mince with a wooden spatula as it fries to smooth out the lumps.
- Once the meat is all brown, the rest of the ingredients go in. The order doesn't really matter to be perfectly honest 🙂
- On this occasion it was onions …
- followed by kidney beans 5 minutes later …
- then the spices, salt, cumin, paprika, garlic granules(I would have added the garlic with the onions if it was fresh garlic)
- Cook together for 5 minutes and then throw in the tomatoes.
- I like to sweat the tomatoes with the lid on for 5-10 minutes before mashing them up with the wooden spoon.
- Once the tomatoes are mashed, lower the heat to the lowest setting and lid the pot.
- Leave to simmer for 25-30 minutes. You shouldn't needs to add any water.
- All done, enjoy with pasta or rice.
If you have any leftover …
- Chilli Shakshuka
- Chilli Dumplings
- Chilli Pierogi
- Chilli Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Chilli Prawn Stirfry
- Chilli Mac ’n’ Cheese
- Chilli Spring Rolls
- Chilli Noodles
- Chilli Shepherd’s Pie
- Chilli Stuffed Mushrooms
- Chilli French Bread Pizza
- Chilli Grilled Cheese
- Chilli Fried Rice
Chilli Shakshuka
Warm leftover chilli in a pan and loosen it with a splash of water, stock or even half a can of plum tomatoes. Make small wells, crack in eggs, cover and cook until the whites set. Finish with coriander, chilli oil, and a squeeze of lime. Serve with crusty bread or naan.
Chilli Dumplings
Mix leftover chilli with a spoon of mashed potato or breadcrumbs to thicken. Spoon into gyoza or wonton wrappers, fold, and pan steam or shallow fry until crispy. Serve with yoghurt + hot sauce or a soy / chilli dip.
Chilli Pierogi
Similar to the dumplings, with a Polish twist. Mix leftover chilli with mashed potato to thicken, spoon into pierogi wrappers, seal, and pan-fry until golden. Serve with sour cream + chives.
Chilli Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Roast sweet potatoes until soft, split them open, and spoon in leftover chilli. Top with yoghurt, coriander, and crispy onions. Sweet potato fibre goodness!
Chilli Prawn Stirfry
Warm leftover chilli in a pan, add prawns and a splash of soy sauce. Toss until glossy and serve over rice or noodles. Surg and turf chinese style.
Chilli Mac ’n’ Cheese
Stir leftover chilli into cooked macaroni and fold through a handful of cheese. Top with more cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake until bubbling and golden. Boom – mac ‘n’ cheese with protein, hell, throw a fried egg on it.
Chilli Spring Rolls
Mix leftover chilli with shredded cabbage or carrots. Roll in spring roll wrappers and shallow fry until crisp. Serve with sweet chilli sauce + yoghurt swirl.
Chilli Noodles
Heat leftover chilli with soy sauce, sesame paste (or peanut butter), chilli oil, and a splash of noodle water. Toss with noodles and top with spring onions + crushed peanuts. Oh, its a whole nother dish!
Chilli Shepherd’s Pie
Spread leftover chilli in a baking dish, top with mashed potatoes, add a sprinkle of cheese, and bake until golden.
Chilli Burrito Bake
Roll leftover chilli + rice into tortillas, place in a dish, cover with a little extra chilli or tomato sauce, layer with cheese and bake.
Soft, cheesy, and perfect for feeding everyone at once.
Chilli Lasagne
Layer leftover chilli with lasagne sheets, béchamel (or just a bit of cream + cheese), and bake until bubbling. Question is why you have this much chilli left over, unless you were planning lasagne all along 🙂 Chilli Tortilla Soup
Simmer leftover chilli with stock until soupy, add corn, top with crushed tortilla chips, yoghurt, sliced avocado, chopped tomatoes and coriander. Great to use up a little bit of chilli.
Chilli Stuffed Mushrooms
Pull the stems out of some large mushrooms ( like the portabello ones ) spoon in leftover chilli, top with cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake until golden. Serve as a snack or eat a load and just treat it as dinner.
Chilli French Bread Pizza
Slice a baguette lengthwise, spread on leftover chilli, top with cheese, onions, jalapeños — whatever you’ve got. Bake until bubbling. It’s better than Dominos and you “made it better at home”.
Chilli Grilled Cheese
Toast two slices of bread, throw on leftover chilli, add an unreasonable amount of cheese, grill until molten.
It’s messy but glorious.
Chilli Fried Rice
Warm leftover chilli in a pan, throw in cold rice, peas, spring onions, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, worchester sauce – a tangy sauce damn it – whatever you find in the fridge. Stir-fry until everything’s hot and glossy. Top with a fried egg for that protein and of course sesame seeds to make it look authentic. How good does that look… brother … I can go on, lets leave it there for today …