chilli con carne

ingredients for two to four

• 1 pound or 500g beef mince, not too lean
• 1-2 onions, finely chopped
• 1-2 green or red peppers, finely chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
• A jalapeno pepper or chilli, finely chopped, OR 2 teaspoons of chilli flakes
• 2-4 teaspoons of cumin powder
• 1-2 teaspoons of hot chilli powder
• 2 tins of chopped tomoatoes
• 1 tin of kidney beans, drained
• An optional half cup of beef stock, or a stock cube
• 2 tablespoons of tomatoe puree
• 1-2 glasses of red wine, preferably dry
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• half a cup of rice per person
• optional but preferable: a few springs of fresh coriander
• optional but preferable: 150-300g sour cream
• optional cheese, grated

instructions

1. add liive oil to a hot saucepan
2. sprinkle in some salt and pepper
3. add the mince and start to brown
4. half way through the browning process, add the onions and garlic
5. once flily browned, add the red/green pepper
6. after a couple of minutes, add the chopped tomatoes, kidney beans, and wine
7. after another minute or two, add the puree, cumin, and hot chilli powder
8. cook over a low heat for a further 10-60 minutes
9. add stock if necessary to add moisture
10. add salt and pepper as necessary to balance flavour
11. add the chilli or chilli flakes 10 minutes before the end
12. boil the rice to coinside with your prospective finishing time
13. serve with rice, sour cream and coriander