There are many variations of the chilli con carne recipe around, which cater to all kinds of tastes. I've seen recipes where the minced beef is substituted with pieces of steak, where capsicum and jalapeno peppers are added to spice it up, where the kidney beans are omitted in favour of canned baked beans, and even one where cocoa powder is added to add an extra richness to the flavour.
Traditionally a Mexican meal, chilli con carne is always going to be a firm favourite, and can be easily adapted for use in burritos, wraps, tacos and other tasty meals.
You'll need:
600g minced beef
1 tablespoon oil (to fry the beef in)
1 onion
1/8 teaspoon chilli powder
2 tomatoes
teaspoon ground cumin
teaspoon oregano (you can use dried or fresh, but I used dried in this case)
1 clove garlic
1 cup (250mL) beef stock
420g can kidney beans
1. Heat up the oil and fry the minced beef until it is lightly browned.
2. Chop up the onion into small pieces and add it to the saucepan. Fry until it is also lightly browned.
3. Dice the tomatoes and put them into the saucepan.
4. Add the chilli powder, cumin, oregano, beef stock, and garlic (you have to crush the garlic before you add it to the mix).
5. Stir everything together and bring it to the boil, then let it simmer for 30 minutes. Make sure you stir the pot occasionally so that nothing sticks to the bottom.
6. Drain the can of kidney beans, and add them to the pot 10 minutes before serving. Make sure you stir them in so that you don't have a huge clump of beans sitting on top of the meat.
7. Serve in a wrap with salad and cheese and you've got yourself a tasty Mexican burrito. Or if you'd prefer, serve on a bed of corn chips and grate cheese over the top for a nachos-inspired meal.
If some of the people you are eating with are not huge fans of kidney beans, you can always heat the beans up and serve them as a side, around the meat. Then they can choose whether or not they want to have any, or they can add whatever portion they feel like. This simple recipe easily serves about four people, and can be used for a variety of other dishes, including tacos or pies. This is a very mild chilli con carne, which means that everyone can enjoy it, including those who can't tolerate spicy food. In fact, there's hardly any chilli in the recipe at all, so feel free to add peppers if you want to experience a bit of a kick.
