by SRD » Wed Jun 03, 2020 7:23 am
I used to use Delia's but now I find she doesn't use enough beans, I like my chilli con carne as a plate of beans with a meat sauce. I also use a mix of red kidney beans and the smaller black beans. I find 6 tins of beans to 500g of meat is about the right proportion.
So I gently fry a couple of large onions 'til they start taking on a bit of colour, add four or five large cloves of garlic crushed and chopped fresh chilli to your taste. I've got some small scotch bonnet chillis I grew myself which are pretty hot and I use a couple of them, (MrsSRD doesn't like it too hot and you can always add tabasco or chilli powder later if it's not hot enough), then stir in the beef mince and cook quite hot (it should sizzle not stew) until all the meat has changed colour and some is starting to brown. Then I add two tins of chopped tomatoes, stir it up and let it simmer with the lid on 'til nicely cooked, the meat shouldn't feel bitty but quite soft. Taste it, it should be much too hot with chilli as you haven't added the beans yet. If it's not tomatoey enough add some tomato paste which will also thicken it a bit. I then season with salt & black pepper to taste. Then I add the beans, 3 tins of red and 3 of black, with their liqour, stir and simmer with the lid off 'til the beans are cooked to your taste, some like them al dente some like them mushy. Taste again, add tabasco or chilli powder if required and cook it through for a few more minutes.
It freezes well.
It doesn't have to be done in one hit, for instance you could make the meat sauce one day then add the beans on another.
We like it with baked potatoes and soured cream (I just squeeze a quarter of a lemon or lime into a quarter pint of double cream) to take some of the sting out of the chilli.
You could add a teaspoon of ground cumin once the onions & garlic are fried.
You could add a tablespoon of chopped parsley or thyme before the tomatoes.
Some people add a couple of squares of strong plain chocolate after the tomatoes have gone in.
Currently investigating the Hillmans of Sussex.