🫘 Chilli Con Carne
⏱️ Prep: 5m | ⏲️ Cook: 1h 20m
A mild, tomato-free chilli. The lentils and mushrooms build the deep, thick, savoury sauce the tomatoes used to.
Ingredients:
- 500g lean (5%) beef mince
- 1 tin (400g) red kidney beans, drained
- 2 onions, diced
- 2 red peppers, diced
- 150g mushrooms, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, finely diced
- Half a cup red split lentils
- 1 small cooked beetroot, grated
- 2 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil
- 6 spring onions, green tops only, sliced
- 2 cups low-salt beef stock
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- Half a tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp masa harina or fine cornmeal
- Smoked sea salt, to taste
- Rice and plain low-fat yoghurt, to serve
Instructions:
- Dice 2 onions. Warm 2 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil in a large pan and brown 500g lean beef mince in two batches, until it is properly dark. Most of the flavour comes from here, so don’t rush it. While it browns, dice 2 red peppers, finely chop 150g mushrooms and finely dice 2 carrots.
- Turn the heat down and soften the 2 diced onions for 8-10 minutes, until translucent and sweet. While they soften, grate 1 small cooked beetroot and slice the green tops of 6 spring onions.
- Add the diced red peppers, the mushrooms and the carrots, and cook for 8 minutes, until the mushrooms have given up their water and start to catch on the pan.
- Stir in 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp ground coriander and half a tsp cinnamon, and cook for 1 minute.
- Add half a cup of red split lentils, the grated beetroot and 2 cups of low-salt beef stock.
- Simmer uncovered for 40 minutes, stirring now and then, until the lentils have collapsed into the sauce. Put the rice on towards the end.
- Add 1 tin of drained red kidney beans and cook for a further 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle over 1 tbsp masa harina, stir it in well, and simmer for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Stir through the sliced spring onion tops and season with smoked sea salt to taste.
Note: Serve with rice and a spoonful of plain low-fat yoghurt. Freezes for up to 3 months.
Note: The beetroot is there for colour, not flavour, and it disappears into the sauce. The smoked sea salt is what makes it taste smoky, so don’t swap it for plain.