Slow-cooked smoky chilli

There was an excellent link in the Good Food newsletter last week- five nights of family suppers for £30 http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/five-nights-budget-suppers-four?cm_mmc=ExactTarget-_-email-_-Good-food-newsletter-387_2014_04_30-_-email&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=Good-food-newsletter-387_2014_04_30 which sounded spot on given the current climate of austerity on the home cooking front. The recipes looked lovely too, no scrimping on taste, and so I decided to put a few to the test.

Here is Good Food’s chunky chilli with a few twists of my own.

Ingredients, serves 4

• 1-2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra if needed
• 800g diced stewing beef
• 1 large red onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1½ tsp ground cumin
• 1-2 tbsp chipotle paste, depending on how spicy you like it
• 400g can kidney beans in chilli sauce
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 1 pint of beef stock made with one stock cube
• 2tbsp plain flour
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• ¼ small pack coriander, leaves only
• Small pot of sour cream
• Cooked rice, to serve
• Optional- grated cheddar cheese to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 130oC.
2. Heat the oil in a large casserole to which you have a lid and cook the beef pieces for a few mins on each side until browned all over (you may have to do this in batches). Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
3. Add the onion to the pan, with extra oil if needed, and cook until softened. Stir in the garlic, cumin and chipotle paste, and cook for 1 min.
4. Add the beef back to the pan, sprinkle over the flour and stir until everything is well coated.
5. Sieve the kidney beans, reserving the sauce. Add the chilli sauce, along with the chopped tomatoes and stock to the pan. Stir well, bring to a simmer, then cover the dish and bake in the oven for 3 hours.
6. After this time, give the chilli a good stir, add the kidney beans, then cover and return to the oven for a further hour.
7. When you are ready to serve the chilli, chop the coriander leaves and stir them through the sauce. Plate up the chilli with a generous serving of rice, a big dollop of cream and a handful of cheese on each helping. My husband also recommends crumbling over a handful of nachos, although I draw the line at putting crisps in my dinner. Try it if you’re feeling adventurous and very hungry.