Now who doesn't like a good Chilli Con Carne?  I spent my early 20's cooking this as much as possible for what scant friends I had and let me tell you it was absolutely vile.  Half a kilo of beef mince, tomato purée, some fried onions and as much chilli powder as I could lay my crazed paws on.  I would like to hope that my current version is a little better.  It leans towards “meaty” rather than “tomatoey” and is all the better for it in my opinion.

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Method

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In a dry pan, gently toast off the dried cumin and allspice, then set aside.

 

First off, fry your onions until nice and golden brown, then put them on some kitchen towel to soak up any oil. 

 

Now add a splash of oil to the pan and fry off the beef mince until cooked through.  Depending on what grade mince you are using you may have a lot of fat in the pan at this point... if so just drain it off.

 

Make up a litre or so of beef stock using boiling water and your stock cubes.  The amount of cubes you need depends on the brand so check the label.  We are going for high impact but too much and it could be salty.

 

Add your onions back in and your toasted spices.  Now put the chilli powder and pepper in and quickly combine before adding your beef stock.  Let this reduce significantly.  Take your time, the longer you cook the more the flavours will develop.

 

When reduced, add the tomato purée and tinned tomatoes and again cook until reduced on a low heat.  Up to you really how long you allow it to simmer, I tend to go for an hour minimum.

 

About half an hour before ready, add the kidney beans.

 

Finally taste for seasoning.  If you feel you need more salt add it now but be careful.

 

Try it served over some sweet potato wedges / halves.  Oh yeah...

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