Hey Bernice!

 My Husband (Tim) has a signature dish … chilli con carne, and it is amazing. As it should be after 3 years of merging recipes and perfecting the combination of spices and sauces. It is an ideal dish for cold winter nights (or lunchtime!). I love it because of the generous inclusion of vegetables – while Tim is eating what seems to him like a carnivores delight, he is actually getting a good balanced meal!

He has asked I explain that whilst there is a recipe to follow, it is really a bit of this and a bit of that …  and then add a little bit more of  any of the ingredients to taste.

One of the key ingredients is dark chocolate, it provides that bonus flavour complexity. I particularly like the addition of this because there is about 3/4 of the block remaining to be consumed with the left over red wine after cooking!

This recipes makes a large pot of chilli, which is great because it freezes beautifully, and is ready for those times when you just can’t be bothered cooking.

Tim’s Chilli Con Carne

2 onions
3 chillis (minimum) jalapeno, green, red, yellow, birdseye (by combining different chillis it adds to the complexity of flavour)
5 cloves of garlic
1kg beef mince
2 litres beef stock
1 cinnamon quill
1.5 cups of red wine
2 capsicums (diced)
4 cans of diced tomatoes
3 cans of kidney beans
75g of good quality dark chocolate (eg. Lindt)
A squirt of HP sauce
A couple of splashes of Tobasco sauce
A couple of splashes of Worcestershire sauce
Sour cream or natural yoghurt for garnish
White rice (optional to serve with the chilli)

1. Saute the onion, garlic and chilli in a large pot until the onion is translucent.
2. Add the beef mince and stir until golden brown and the mince has broken down into small pieces.
3. Reduce the heat and add the beef stock.
4. Add the cans of tomatoes, diced capsicum, cinnamon quill and sauces
5. Stir in the red wine
6. Simmer and stir every 15 minutes (so it doesn’t burn on the bottom) until the liquid has reduced and thickened to a rich gravy consistency
7. Add the cans of kidney beans and cook for another 10 minutes
8. Add the dark chocolate (then place it next to the bottle of red wine to have later!)
9. Cook for another 10 minutes
10. Serve in a bowl on its own with a spoon of sour cream (or natural yoghurt) on top and a sprinkle of finely sliced spring onions or chives. Alternatively you can serve it with boiled white rice underneath.

Place the left over chilli in portion controlled containers and freeze – it will last for months.

Bernice