Chilli Con Carne is a staple of Tex-Mex cuisine; it’s a rich hearty stew bursting with layers of flavour and a little bit of spice to warm you on cold nights out on the range. It’s a relatively easy one pot meal that will feed whole families at a time, always best when made the day before allowing the flavours to mature and develop overnight.
This is my version I originally learned how to make from my mother when I was a teenager, I then took it to university where it evolved into its current incarnation! This will make a huge pot of spicy and flavourful winter warmer; you can easily scale it down by half and still have plenty left over for lunches or freezing. For those who aren’t a fan of spice I recommend removing the cayenne pepper from the spice mix and the chilies from the list of vegetables.
When it comes to pairing wine with this dish you want something big and hearty to stand up to that big flavour profile as well as the protein rich meat in the dish. In this case I chose the Perrin et Fils Vinsobres Les Cornuds, 2009, a beautiful blend of Grenache and Syrah from the Rhone region of south-east France. This wine has a wonderful structure able to hold its own against the strong spicing of the chili while the elegant fruit sing through and marry fantastically with the pops of anise courtesy of the fennel seeds in the spice mix.
Ingredients
For the spice mix:
1 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper
1 Tbsp Fennel Seeds
1 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
1 Tbsp Garam Masala
1 Tbsp Ground Cumin
1 Tbsp Ground Corriander
1 Tbsp Turmeric
1 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon
1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder (unusual I know but it adds depth and richness to your chili, you can always substitute it out for instant coffee grounds if you want more bitterness)
500g Beef Mince
2 white onions, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 tins chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
4 beef stock cubes
2 chili peppers, finely diced
2 bell peppers, roughly chopped
1 tin kidney beans, drained
250g mushrooms, roughly chopped
Salt, pepper and Worcestershire Sauce to taste
Method
In a large, high sided pot add your spice mix. Toast on a low heat until fragrant and remove.
Add a splash of oil to the pan and turn the heat up to medium.
Add the onion and sweat down until soft and translucent, add the garlic and wait 30 seconds before adding the beef mince so that the garlic has time to release its oils but not so long that it will burn.
Brown the mince off before adding your toasted spices and stir well so that the mix coats the beef and onions well.
Turn the heat down to low and add your chopped tomatoes, 200ml of cold water, tomato puree and stock cubes, stirring well to deglaze your pan.
Add your chilies, peppers, kidney beans and mushrooms.
Taste for seasoning, I like to add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce at this point to add a bit of salt and depth of umami flavour.
Cover and allow to simmer gently for one hour, stirring every so often to keep from catching.
Check for seasoning a final time and serve alongside rice, salad, sour cream, grated cheese and tortillas.
The Perfect Wine Match
Perrin Vinsobres Les Cornuds, Rhone, France 2009
Seductive aromas of black cherry, cassis and blackberry with added leather, violet and clove spice. Ample and generous on the mid-palate with ripe, fine and silky tannins underpinned by more bramble and hedgerow fruit, with cracked black pepper spice on the lingering finish.
