Ultimate Chilli Con Carne


This is my all time ultimate chilli recipe. It's hearty, warming and packs a punch is flavour. Serve with rice and tortilla chips.

Ultimate Chilli Con Carne

This is my ultimate chilli recipe, suitable for both kids and adults thanks to a little secret addition at the end for those who like it hot. The base recipe is from BBC Good Food  but I have adapted it quite a bit from the original, not least doubling the quantities so I can put half in the freezer to pull out on the days I just don't have enough time to cook (there will be many of 'those' days when I go back to the 'day job' next week...boo!).

The quantity this recipe makes is enough to serve 8-10 adults easily with rice, tortilla chips, sour cream and grated cheese. Nothing quite like a lovely hot chilli on a windy and cold winter evening don't you think...and it always tastes better if made a day in advance.

Leftovers can be made into a Chilli Cheese Pasta bake, which I will be duly doing in line with this weeks meal plan - miraculously I have stuck to it by the letter, an achievement in itself! Enjoy.

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Ultimate Chilli Con Carne
Serve this Chilli with Rice, Sour Cream, Grated Cheese and Guacamole
Ingredients
  • 1 TBSP Olive Oil
  • 1 Onion, chopped
  • 1 Red Onion, chopped
  • 75g Chorizo, chopped
  • 2 Red Peppers, chopped
  • 5 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
  • 1 TBSP Chilli Powder
  • 2 TSP Smoked Paprika
  • 3 TSP Ground Cumin
  • 2 Cardamom Pods, bruised
  • 1kg Minced Steak
  • 1 Oxo Beef Stock Cube
  • 2 x 400g Tins of Chopped Tomatoes
  • 60ml Sweet Chilli Sauce
  • 1 TSP Dried Marjoram
  • 4 TBSP Tomato Puree
  • 2 x 400g Tins of Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
  • Thumb size piece of dark chocolate
  • For those who like it really hot, extra chilli sauce to serve
Instructions
Step 1: Heat the oil in a large lidded casserole and gently fry the onions, chorizo, red peppers and garlic until the onion is soft.Step 2: Stir in the chilli powder, smoked paprika, cumin and cardamom pods and cook for a few minutes.Step 3: Increase the heat and brown the mince then add the tomatoes, sweet chilli sauce and marjoram. Crumble the stock cube into 300ml of boiling water and add this to the pan, season well. Bring to a simmer then turn down the heat, put the lid on and cook for 45 minutes.Step 4: Add the kidney beans and chocolate and simmer gently, uncovered for a further 30 minutes.Step 5: Serve, preferably the next day with rice, tortilla chips, grated cheese and sour cream and the cayenne pepper sauce for those who like it really hot (in this case my husband).
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 10 portions

8 comments

  1. That looks a delightful Chilli. And a couple of cracking photos too.
    A classic recipe done really well.
    The only changes I make occasionally are to make it with chunks of shin beef or a mixture of shin and mince. And I add a shot of strong coffee too.
    Would be a warming meal for this time of year.
    Cheers
    Marcus

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  2. wow that looks like such a lovely chilli. I love the chilli and chocolate combination too. There is nothing like chilli on a cold wintersday.

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  3. How delicious Beth, and perfect for winter.

    I recently went to an event and we made a leftover chilli calzone which was amazingly good!

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  4. Oh the addition of chocolate is nice, a little nod to molé

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  5. I am a BIG fan of the chocolate and chilli combination and that looks LUSH Beth! Great with a glass of RED wine!

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  6. Oh my goodness. I made chilli this week with (have to admit) packet mix and added a few bits and bobs. This looks like what I have been looking for. I love chilli and I am trying to get the rest of them to like it. Have bookmarked.

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  7. Looks great! I've been on the hunt for ultimate chili for ages :)

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  8. I'm on a real spice kick at the moment, so this really appeals

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