Recipe: My speciality, Chili Con Carne

I was once asked as an interview for a place in a shared house what my signature dish was, I was quick to answer that my Chili was second to none, this is mainly because me (and a couple of my friends) have spent the last 7 years trying to make this better.

Amongst my friends I think that this is a favourite recipe, mainly because many of them played a part in making it, it is very good to cook for larger groups of people (I made it at new years this year to feed 20 people) mainly because you can make it well before a party then leave it to simmer while you get everything else ready, the only down side is that it can be a bit messy to eat standing up!

Here is what you will need for 6 people (mix of boys and girls)

700 grams of minced beef (Lean or extra lean is best)
2 medium onions (1 and a half big un's)
1 clove garlic
4 medium strength chili peppers (you can also use a birds eye and a couple of bigger chillies if you prefer)
1 Can Red Kidney beans
1 Can mixed beans (These are usually red kidney beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans, borlotti beans and black-eyed beans, make sure you get the ones in water)
3 cans of chopped plum tomatoes
tomato puree
tomato ketchup
Worcestershire sauce
soy sauce
paprika
cayenne pepper

ground cumin
black pepper
2 beef OXO cubes

Serve with
Doritoes (lightly salted)
Sour cream
Guacamole
Salsa
Cheese

or jacket potatoes
or rice

or in wraps with salad

How to

Chop the onions into fine pieces, crush and very finely chop the chili peppers and the garlic.
Drain and rinse the beans
Fry the mince, garlic, chili and beans in a together in a pan with a teaspoon of oil and a splash of soy sauce on a high heat until the mince is starting to turn brown. Make sure that everything mixes properly together (this should take between 8 and 12 minutes to cook) and that the mince has started to dry out as I think this helps it to absorbs the flavours of the sauce.

You then need to add the tomatoes, a dash of puree, a squeeze of ketchup, a drop of the Worcestershire sauce and half a teaspoon of cumin and paprika. sprinkle with a small amount of cayenne pepper.

Crumble the OXO cubes, grind over some black pepper and turn the heat down to be about 2 (on a scale of 1-6) leave for as long as possible... but you could serve after about 10 minutes (if you bubble it vigorously and stir it regularly).

As I said this is good for parties or for cold winter nights.