Chile con carne (Chilli con Carne) and Spicy baked rice

Chile con carne (Chilli con Carne)

Pull the tender meat apart with a
pair or forks

Chile con Carne

Tender strands of meat that
melts in the mouth

All packed and ready to go

Due to the nature of my job, every now and then I will have to do nightshifts. And this week was the launch of Christmas window display and that means one of those much dreaded nightshift. I've decided to prepare some delicious treats for my friends in work and this is Jonny, my friend in work's favourite dish. Unlike the normal chile which is made using minced beef, this is made with proper braising steak. The steak are first seared and then place in a casserole with the rest of the ingredients and put in a preheated oven and cooked for at least 3 hours. The pieces of steak are then removed and shredded using two forks alá Peking Duck style. This produced a really delicious and much better textured chile which will put the usual common chile con carne to shame. The addition of chipotle chillies which is a mexican smoked dried japapeño chilli gives it a rich smoky flavour.

And due the the request of all my friends who've tried it, this is the recipe for this sumptuous chile dish.

For the Chile con carne:

(Serves 6-8)

1 kg braising or stewing steak (any cheap cut)

1 large onion

3-4 cloves of garlic

300g cooking chorizo, cut into chunks

olive oil

1 tsp cloves

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground allspice

1 cinnamon stick

a few bay leaves

2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 2 tsp dried

a few drizzle of Tabasco Sauce

2 tbsp chipotles en adobo or 2 Chipotle chillies, soaked for 30 minutes in hot water or substitute with 2 tbsp of smoked paprika

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tbsp of cider or balsamic vinegar

2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato ketchup

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

2 x 400g tins borlotti beans (or any other beans of your choice)

A handful of fresh coriander, chopped

Preaheat the oven to 120°C or gas mark 1.

Add the chipotles en adobo chipotle chillies or paprika, onion and garlic into blender and pulse until finely chopped. Heat some olive oil in a large casserole and sear the meat on all sides until golden. Set to one side and then brown the chorizo in the same casserole. Add the chopped chipotle, onion and garlic mixture, spices and herbs and cook until soft, for about 4-5 minutes. season with salt and pepper, tobacco sauce and add the vinegar, tomatoes, ketchup and sugar.

Put all the steak back into the pot with 400ml of water (or red wine for a richer flavour) until the meat are well covered with liquid, bring up to a simmer and the covered with a lid and cook in the oven for 2 hours. Add the beans and then pop it back into the oven and cook for another hour. Just before serving, gently take the meat out of the casserole and shreds with a pair of forks. Return to the casserole together with a handful of chopped fresh coriander.

For the spicy baked rice:

(Serves around 4)

400g basmati rice, cooked and cooled

1 medium onion

a piece of ginger, roughly 2 cm, skin removed

3 cloves of garlic

1 red chillies, deseeded

1 tsp turmeric

1 tbsp tomato purée

1 red pepper, finely chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 190°C or gas mark 6.

Add the onion, ginger, garlic, chillies, turmeric, tomato purée into a blender and blitz into a paste. Heat up some olive oil in a pan and sauté the red pepper for a couple of minutes. Add the chopped paste and cooked for another 5-6 minutes. Add the cooked rice and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour the rice mixture onto a ovenproof dish and cover with foil. Place in the oven and baked for 25-30 minutes.