Chilli con Carne

Ingredients

2 medium onions
1 garlic clove
olive oil
2 tsp chilli powder
1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin (or crushed cumin seeds)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
450g/1lb chuck steak, minced or best minced beef
200g/7oz sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
� stick cinnamon
2 x 400g cans red kidney beans, drained

Method

1. To cook this I use a metal pan or casserole with a lid, which you can
use on the hob and in the oven. If you are going to use the oven method
then preheat the oven to 150C/ 300F/Gas 2.
2. Blitz the onions and garlic in the food processor until finely
chopped, then fry in a little olive oil until softened. Add the chilli
powder, fresh chilli, cumin and a little seasoning. Then add the minced
chuck steak or beef and continue to cook, stirring, until it has browned.
3. Blitz the sun-dried tomatoes in the food processor with enough oil
from the jar to loosen into a paste. Add these to the beef with the
tomatoes, cinnamon stick and a wine glass of water. Season a little more
if need be.
4. Bring to the boil, cover with greaseproof paper and the lid, then
either turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 1 � hours or transfer
the pan to the oven for about 1 � hours. Add the tinned kidney beans 30
minutes before the end of the cooking time - they are already cooked and
only need warming up.
5. This always tastes better if you cook it the day before (to give the
flavours time to develop), so its really handy if you've got friends
coming round and don't want to be stuck in the kitchen. Just take it out
of the fridge and warm it up - serve with lots of fresh crusty bread, a
nice tossed salad, and a big blob of natural yoghurt or guacamole