Chilli con Carne

I've been meaning to cook chilli con carne for a while now, but I kept postponing it for spicy food may not be the best idea when pregnant. Besides, the baby doesn't seem to like beans for whenever I eat them I feel terribly sick.

So I was really glad when I found this recipe, from Jamie Oliver which takes chickpeas or cubed potatoes instead of beans. I just cooked it for dinner

Jamie: "What a classic dish this is. Most of my mates love the chickpeas, but butter beans or even cubed potatoes will work well in their place. Feel free to pep up this dish with more chilli depending on your taste. This will make enough for six portions, so simply freeze the extra if you're only cooking for four - it's so damn good the next day, even on a jacket potato!"

Taken from Jamie's Ministry of Food

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 medium onions

2 cloves of garlic

2 medium carrots

2 sticks of celery

2 red peppers

Olive oil

1 heaped teaspoon chilli powder

1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin

1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 x 400g tin of chickpeas

1 x 400g tin of red kidney beans

2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes

500g good-quality minced beef

1 small bunch of fresh coriander

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

400g basmati rice

1 x 500g tub of natural yoghurt

1 x 230g tub of guacamole

1 lime

 
1. Peel and finely chop the onions, garlic, carrots and celery - don’t worry about the technique, just chop away until fine.

2. Halve the red peppers, remove the stalks and seeds and roughly chop.
3. Place your largest casserole-type pan on a medium high heat.
4. Add 2 lugs of olive oil and all your chopped vegetables.
5. Add the chilli powder, cumin and cinnamon with a good pinch of salt and pepper.
6. Stir every 30 seconds for around 7 minutes until softened and lightly coloured.
7. Add the drained chickpeas, drained kidney beans and the tinned tomatoes
8. Add the minced beef, breaking any larger chunks up with a wooden spoon.
9. Fill one of the empty tomato tins with water and pour this into the pan.
10. Pick the coriander leaves and place them in the fridge.
11. Finely chop the washed stalks and stir in.
12. Add the balsamic vinegar and season with a good pinch of salt and pepper.
13. Bring to the boil and turn the heat down to a simmer with a lid slightly askew for about an hour, stirring every now and again to stop it catching.

To serve chilli con carne

1. This is fantastic served with fluffy rice.
2. Just divide the rice and chilli into big bowls or serve in the middle of the table and let everyone help themselves.
3. If you don't fancy rice it's equally good with a nice hunk of fresh crusty bread, over a jacket potato or with couscous.
4. Put a small bowl of natural yoghurt, some guacamole and a few wedges of lime on the table, and sprinkle the chilli with the coriander leaves.
5. I love to add a nice green salad to round it off