Chilli con Carne

Dear Richard

Here is the long-overdue recipe that I promised for your website. It is one of my own recipes, which I have tried out a couple of times but might still need some perfection, hence my notes. It really can be done ‘to taste’ and people can flavour and change consistency to their taste.  I called it Broadway Market chilli beef! If you have any questions, just let me know.

Best wishes

Rossana

BROADWAY MARKET CHILLI BEEF

500g       wild beef mince
250g       black beans (dried, soaked in cold water overnight and drained)*
1             onion, chopped
2             carrots,chopped
2             garlic cloves, crushed
1             tin tomatoes
1/2 litre   beef stock
2-3 tbs    mole -chocolate and chilli paste*
1/2 tsp    ground coriander
1/2tsp     ground cinnamon
Splash     Worcester sauce
Spash      Angostura bitters
                salt to taste, pepper


Method:

In a large pan, fry chopped onions in a mix of olive oil and sunflower oil until softened, add carrots and cook for a further three minutes.

Add garlic, then the minced beef and fry until meats stats browning (you might need to use a fork to break the mince up) then add the beef stock and tomatoes and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Add the black beans, coriander, cinnamon, Worcester sauce and bitters and cook on a high heat for 15 minutes, then cover and cook for an hour on a lower heat. Add the mole sauce to taste (the richness of chocolate, the heat of chilli) and cook on a high heat for five minutes, to ensure paste is broken down, then continue for a further 10 minutes on a low heat (or longer, if beans need longer). If you think that the chilli needs some extra liquid, add some water (swill it in the tomato can first, to get some extra tomato flavour).

Great served with garlic bread. Serves four to six people. It tastes even better if left a day before eating then reheated.


Notes:

* black beans and mole (Dona Maria brand) available from: Casa Mexico, 1 Winkley Street, London, E2 6PY (www.casamexico.co.uk)

An alternative is to boil up the black beans for 20 minutes before adding to the meat, therefore reducing the cooking time of the chilli.

Home made beef stock made with wild beef bones is ideal, but a good shop bought liquid stock or a Kallo beef stock cube is just as good.