Chili Con Carne With Lumpy Guacamole Recipes

CHILI CON CARNE

Steps:

• Cook the bacon in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes per side. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate and let cool, then crumble and set aside. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings from the saucepan (reserve the drippings). Increase the heat to medium high, add the beef and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon; wipe out the pan.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the reserved bacon drippings in the saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and 1 teaspoon salt and cook 2 minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano and tomato paste and cook, stirring, until the tomato paste is brick red, about 6 minutes (add a splash of water if the mixture begins to stick). Add the beer and simmer until almost completely reduced, about 3 minutes.
• Stir in the beef and any juices from the plate; add the cocoa powder, tomatoes, beef broth and beans and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chili thickens slightly, about 1 hour, 30 minutes.
• Stir the hot sauce into the chili and season with salt. Add some beef broth if the chili is too thick. Ladle into bowls and top with the crumbled bacon, cheese, scallions and/or sour cream.

CHILLI CON CARNE RECIPE

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.

CHILI CON CARNE

Steps:

• Drain and rinse the soaked beans, and place them in a large saucepan with water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently until the beans are tender, about 1 1/2 hours. (You can prepare the beans 1 or 2 days ahead; let cool, cover, and refrigerate in their liquid.)
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat; add the tomatoes, and cook, turning occasionally, until skins begin to char, about 5 minutes. Cover the pan, reduce heat to medium-low, and continue to cook, turning, until the tomatoes have softened, 7 to 8 minutes more. Transfer to a large bowl. When cool enough to handle, peel and core the tomatoes. Place the tomato flesh in a clean bowl, and reserve.
• While the tomatoes cool, place two-thirds of the onion quarters in the same skillet with 2 tablespoons of the oil. Cover, and cook over medium heat, turning occasionally, until nicely charred and softened, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool. Repeat with the garlic cloves, remaining onion, and another tablespoon oil. When cool enough to handle, peel the garlic and onion, cutting off and discarding roots and peels and adding the flesh to the bowl with the tomato. Transfer the vegetables and any juices to a blender in batches (fill no more than halfway), and puree until nearly smooth. Set aside in a large bowl.
• Tear the chiles in half, and discard the stems and seeds. In the same skillet over medium heat, toast the chiles in the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, turning with tongs, until smoky, about 3 minutes. Transfer to the blender. Bring the broth and water to a boil, pour over the chiles, and let stand until the chiles are pliable, about 5 minutes. Puree the chiles and broth, and stir into the tomato mixture.
• In a 7-quart Dutch oven over medium heat, cook one-third of the meat, breaking it up with a spoon and stirring occasionally, until nicely browned, about 8 minutes. While the meat is cooking, brown another third of the meat in the skillet. Then add that batch to the first in the Dutch oven. Stir the tomato mixture into the meat in the Dutch oven. Brown the remaining beef in the same skillet; add to the Dutch oven. Drain the cooked beans; add them to pot with the salt.
• Bring the chili to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently, stirring, until the meat is tender and the sauce is thick, about 1 1/2 hours. Stir in the chocolate; season with pepper. Serve with the guacamole.
• Halve the avocados, and remove the pits. Score the flesh into cubes with a small, sharp knife, and scrape them into a bowl. Stir in the lime juice, lemon juice, tomatoes, onion, chile, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

CLASSIC CHILI CON CARNE

Steps:

• For the chile powder: Place the chiles flat in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat and cook, turning as needed, until lightly toasted. Transfer to a plate to cool. Put the cumin seeds in the hot pan and stir until fragrant. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
• Using scissors, cut the chiles into small strips. Using a spice grinder or a clean coffee grinder, grind in batches into a powder. Pour into a bowl. Grind the cumin seeds into a powder and add to the bowl. Add the oregano and garlic powder. If the mixture is still coarse, grind again until fine. Reserve 3 1/2 tablespoons for the chili; save the rest in a jar.
• For the chili: In a Dutch oven over medium heat, stir the cumin seeds until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour onto a work surface and using a small, heavy skillet, crush them coarsely. Set aside.
• Return the pot to medium-high heat, add the bacon and fry until crisp, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
• Increase the heat to high. Working in small batches, add the beef cubes to the pot and cook, stirring, until well browned on all sides. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a bowl.
• Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions to the remaining bacon drippings and sauté until lightly browned, about 8 minutes.
• Add the crushed cumin, reserved chili powder, paprika, oregano, black pepper, thyme, salt and garlic and cook, stirring often, for 1 minute. Crumble in the bacon and add the broth, tomatoes, 1 cup water, anchos and the browned beef. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, then decrease the heat to low, cover partly and simmer for 2 hours, until the meat is very tender. Add water as needed to maintain a good chili consistency.
• Remove the anchos, purée them in a food processor or blender and return the purée to the pot. Stir well, simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors and serve.