A really easy chilli con carne recipe with loads of flavour even though it uses mostly store cupboard ingredients.
Summer Chilli con carne
Easy recipe with added banana, Chocolate and apples. Yes I know, right! Serve with sour cream, lime wedges, guacamole and crusty bread (corriander rice is good too)
Servings: 4
Cost: £14
Equipment
- 1 Large heavy base cooking pot
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions chopped
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 kg lean beef mince
- 250 ml red wine optional
- 2 400g tins chopped tomatoes
- 2 bananas adds a summer flavour
- 1 tbsp cocao helps to temper the spice
- 1 apple adds a summer flavour
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 red chillies thinly sliced, or 3–4 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 cinnamon stick or ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- good shake of Worcestershire sauce
- 2 beef stock cubes
- 2 400g tins red kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 large bunch fresh coriander leaves roughly chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- lime wedges (also consider corriander rice, guacamole, soured cream or green salad to serve)
- 1 loaf crusty bread
- 1 tub sour cream
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan with a lid and fry the onion and garlic until softened. Increase the heat and add the mince, cooking quickly until browned and breaking down any chunks of meat with a wooden spoon. Pour in the red wine, if using, and boil for 2–3 minutes.
- Stir in the tomatoes, tomato purée, fresh chilli or chilli flakes, cumin, ground coriander, cinnamon and Worcestershire sauce and crumble in the stock cube. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook over a gentle heat for about 50 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally until the mixture is rich and thickened.
- during this time, add chopped banana, finely chopped apple and the cocao (personally I add these around 25 minutes after starting the simmer).
- Add the kidney beans and fresh coriander. Cook for a further 10 minutes, uncovered, before removing from the heat and add any extra seasoning if necessary.
- We prefer serving on a bed of Corriander Rice with Lime Wedges and Sour Cream
Notes
from the BBC website (easy chilli con carne). The above recipe is very similar to the BBC one but with the addition of banana, cacao and apple.
"The chilli is much tastier a day or two after it's cooked because the flavours develop and the texture becomes richer. Simply leave to cool, stick in the fridge and gently heat before serving.
If you're eating the chilli on the day you prepared it, any leftovers can be frozen in individual portions in well-sealed sandwich bags or boxes. Reheat from frozen in a saucepan of water for about 15–20 minutes until steaming hot.
What can I add to chilli con carne for more flavour?
Spices such as ground cumin, coriander and cinnamon round out the flavours without adding much heat (that’s where the chillies come in). If you enjoy smoky flavours, try adding smoked paprika in addition to the other spices.
In this recipe, red wine, Worcestershire sauce and beef stock add depth of flavour and some sweetness, but browning the meat thoroughly will add lots of flavour.
Why is chilli con carne healthy?
It’s mainly thanks to the beans, which are high in fibre and protein. However, chilli con carne can be high in saturated fat, so choose lean meat and throw in an extra tin of beans if health is your priority (kidney beans are the most common but pinto and black beans also work well)."
