Basic Chilli

Ok, this is my chilli recipe. I made this on Monday, it is simple and tasty. I'm not claiming to be a chilli expert and I am sure there are better versions out there, but this is so simple and so useful, that I am going to tell you about it!

Start with a couple of finely chopped onions, in a pan with some oil and salt. Add flavours here; a couple of cloves of garlic, pepper, dried herbs, and of course, chilli (how much is of course up to you). Once these are all cooking happily together, and when the onion is soft, you can add the meat. Keep stirring it around and mashing it up until it is all brown and in small pieces (not chunks and lumps or worms!). Cook it for a little while with the lid on so that the juices start coming out of the meat.

After 5 minutes, take the lid off and give it a stirr. Hopefully, you have some juices. Move the meat to make a small well, either in the middle or to one side, and crumble in a beef stock cube. Stir this in the liquid, until it dissolves, and then into the rest of the mix. Then add a diced courgette and a diced pepper - you can leave either of these out but I always like to get a bit of veg in somewhere. Put the lid on and let it have some time for the courgette and pepper to get cooking, about 5-10 minutes.

Then add tomatoes, chopped fresh, or a tin of chopped, or a mix of the two, and also add a good squirt of puree. Remember when you use tinned tomatoes that they can tase 'tinny' so always add some sugar when you add these - a table spoon per tin is quite a good amount. Stir the tomatoes and also add some kidney beans. Let the mixture plop and bubble away happily for half and hour, to fourty minutes (the longer it has the better).

This is great with rice, and a dolop of creme fresh. And I've been taking it to work this week and it does make a lovely lunch.