I [heart] Chilli con carne

As soon as winter hits in the northern hemisphere, I start seeing all these recipes floating around the blogosphere for vegetarian chilli.  They all look amazing, but I’m sorry you guys, I live with three red blooded men, so this isn’t going to be one of them!

We re-discovered chilli con carne only a few months ago. I saw one of the aforementioned vegetarian recipes and suddenly had an insatiable craving.  I’d never even made it before, but I was on a mission. My mum used to make the best chilli when I was a child, but my brother and I couldn’t handle spicy food back in the day, so she almost never had it. Since re-discovering chilli I don’t know how I’ve lived without it all these years!

As I said, this isn’t a chilli for the vegetarians or vegans out there; it’s choc-a-bloc full of meat and dairy. You could substitute the meat for beans if you prefer, but I wont lie, I prefer the smokey, meaty flavours of this dish. We’ve been having it a lot over summer, but I can’t wait for winter to kick in so I can curl up on the couch on cold evenings, with a big bowl to warm my insides.

What you Need:
3 tablespoons of Olive oil
125g of rindless bacon, roughly chopped
750g of lean beef mince
2 medium brown onions, finely chopped
2 medium red capsicums, chopped
1 large carrot, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
3 long red chilli’s, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of chilli powder
2 tablespoons of paprika
800g can of chopped tomatoes
1 can of red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
1 bunch of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1 tub of sour cream
1 packet of plain corn chips
1 avocado (optional)

What you do:
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add bacon. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until starting to crisp. Add the mince and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up mince, for 15 minutes or until browned.

2. Add onions, capsicum, carrot, garlic and chopped chilli. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Add chilli powder and paprika  and any other herbs and spices you might like. (I usually put a pinch of basil, dried coriander and oregano as well) Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant.

3. Add tomatoes and 1 cup of chicken stock. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, partially covered, for at least 30 minutes or until sauce has reduced slightly. For extra flavour add in some half cherry tomatoes.

4. Add in the beans and increase heat to medium. Cook for 15 minutes or until beans are heated through and sauce has thickened. Stir through the coriander, reserving a handful to garnish. Serve chilli with sour cream and corn chips. Top with a sprinkling of coriander and avocado if you so desire.