Good old Chilli con Carne

What's a Superbowl Sunday without chilli? Well the game wasn't on at my house, but the pot of chilli was.

I decided to try out Jamie Oliver's recipe for Chilli con carne. This came from his Ministry of Food book, which is simplified cooking for people who aren't great in the kitchen. The whole process started out positively, but it doesn't pack a whole lotta punch. For example, the recipe calls for one measly teaspoon of chilli powder. Maybe the Brits don't love hot chillis? I ended up adding much more chilli powder, but it's still hot what I would call a chilli with heat. It does, though, have some other interesting ingredients I've never added to chilli, including cumin and cinnamon, and it doesn't call for the beef to be browned first.

Start by cooking all the chopped veg. This recipe requires a lot of chopping, and I think I probably got bored and forgot to add in the garlic. Try to imagine it in this picture.

Grind up all your spices and get them ready.

In goes the ground beef. Grass fed from O'Brien farms in this case.

And here's the finished bowl, complete with a side of corn bread. Happy football!

Good old chilli con carne
From Jamie's Ministry of Food

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

To make your chilli

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

Halve the red peppers, remove the stalks and seeds and roughly chop.

Place your largest casserole-type pan on a medium high heat.

Add 2 lugs of olive oil and all your chopped vegetables.

Add the chilli powder, cumin and cinnamon with a good pinch of salt and pepper.

Stir every 30 seconds for around 7 minutes until softened and lightly coloured.

Add the drained chickpeas, drained kidney beans and the tinned tomatoes.

Add the minced beef, breaking any larger chunks up with a wooden spoon.

Fill one of the empty tomato tins with water and pour this into the pan.

Pick the coriander leaves and place them in the fridge.

Finely chop the washed stalks and stir in.

Add the balsamic vinegar and season with a good pinch of salt and pepper.

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.