Mexican Chilli Con Carne Recipe With Cannellini Beans

Steps:

• Saute meat, onions and garlic until done.
• Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 2 hours.
• The beer is optional but does add a good flavor and, of course, the alcohol is cooked out during cooking.

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink, 5-7 minutes; crumble beef. Drain and set aside. , In the same pot, heat oil; saute onions until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the green pepper, salt, chili powder, bouillon, cayenne, cinnamon, cumin and oregano. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring until combined. , Add tomatoes and browned beef. Stir in water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for about 1 hour. Add beans and heat through. If desired top with sour cream and jalapeno.

Steps:

• Fry the onion and red pepper in olive oil over a medium heat for 10-15 mins or until softened. Increase the heat, add the chilli powder and cook for a few minutes before adding the mince. Cook until browned and all the liquid has evaporated.
• Tip in the baked beans, beef stock and chipotle paste. Simmer over a low heat for 15-20 mins. Season, scatter with coriander leaves and serve with rice and yogurt.

Steps:

• For the chili seasoning: Combine the seasonings into an empty spice bottle (or small mason jar) and shake well. Can be stored for weeks. Leftover spices are perfect for seasoning taco meat or any kind of Mexican themed recipe. For the salsa: NOTE: You don't need to make the salsa for this recipe. I do, because I can use the leftover salsa with chips, which gives me two recipes for one! You only need to rough chop the vegetables and toss them into a food processor, which includes: Onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse just a few times. Add the tomatoes and mild green chilis (or the Rotel tomatoes, if using). Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you'd like-I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed. Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or cheese nachos. For the chili: The night before, rinse and drain the pinto beans; check to be sure there aren't any rocks or debris. Heat, covered with water and a pinch of baking soda until boiling. Cover with a lid and reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes, until the beans are tender. Drain and set aside. To make the "Con Carne": Brown the beef and drain any excess fat; set aside. In a large skillet or pot, heat a little vegetable oil until shimmering. Cook the onion until softened, about 3-5 minutes, on medium heat. Add the minced garlic, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add two tablespoons of Mexican seasoning and the tomato paste and cook and stir until well combined-- about 3 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and diced green chilis. Bring the meat sauce to a simmer and taste for seasonings. Add more Mexican Spice, if desired and add salt to your personal taste. Add the beans to the "Con Carne" sauce. TIP: I don't add all of the beans, at once. This is where you have control of the bean-to-meat-sauce ratio. Add the salsa and combine. You can add more salsa if you wish, but I always start with about one cup. This gives a nice acidity and balance of flavor to the Chili Con Carne. Pour the Chili Con Carne into a slow cooker and heat on low for 4 hours. Keep on warm, which makes this perfect for a potluck. NOTE: If the chili seems too thin, use 1/4 cup of corn meal and add enough water to create a thick paste. Add one tablespoon at a time, until thickened to your liking. Serve with warm flour tortillas, or with corned bread, or over cooked rice. OPTIONAL: Cook on low on the stove for an hour or two. Freezes well.

Steps:

• Prepare your vegetables. Chop 1 large onion into small dice, about 5mm square. The easiest way to do this is to cut the onion in half from root to tip, peel it and slice each half into thick matchsticks lengthways, not quite cutting all the way to the root end so they are still held together. Slice across the matchsticks into neat dice.
• Cut 1 red pepper in half lengthways, remove stalk and wash the seeds away, then chop. Peel and finely chop 2 garlic cloves.
• Start cooking. Put your pan on the hob over a medium heat. Add 1 tbsp oil and leave it for 1-2 minutes until hot (a little longer for an electric hob).
• Add the onion and cook, stirring fairly frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft, squidgy and slightly translucent.
• Tip in the garlic, red pepper, 1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder or 1 level tbsp mild chilli powder, 1 tsp paprika and 1 tsp ground cumin.
• Give it a good stir, then leave it to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Brown 500g lean minced beef. Turn the heat up a bit, add the meat to the pan and break it up with your spoon or spatula. The mix should sizzle a bit when you add the mince.
• Keep stirring and prodding for at least 5 minutes, until all the mince is in uniform, mince-sized lumps and there are no more pink bits. Make sure you keep the heat hot enough for the meat to fry and become brown, rather than just stew.
• Make the sauce. Crumble 1 beef stock cube into 300ml hot water. Pour this into the pan with the mince mixture.
• Add a 400g can of chopped tomatoes. Tip in ½ tsp dried marjoram, 1 tsp sugar and add a good shake of salt and pepper. Squirt in about 2 tbsp tomato purée and stir the sauce well.
• Simmer it gently. Bring the whole thing to the boil, give it a good stir and put a lid on the pan. Turn down the heat until it is gently bubbling and leave it for 20 minutes.
• Check on the pan occasionally to stir it and make sure the sauce doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan or isn't drying out. If it is, add a couple of tablespoons of water and make sure that the heat really is low enough. After simmering gently, the saucy mince mixture should look thick, moist and juicy.
• Drain and rinse a 410g can of red kidney beans in a sieve and stir them into the chilli pot. Bring to the boil again, and gently bubble without the lid for another 10 minutes, adding a little more water if it looks too dry.
• Taste a bit of the chilli and season. It will probably take a lot more seasoning than you think.
• Now replace the lid, turn off the heat and leave your chilli to stand for 10 minutes before serving. This is really important as it allows the flavours to mingle.
• Serve with soured cream and plain boiled long grain rice.