Carne Con Chili

No, I am not going mad and I do mean carne con chilli - this dish is all about the meat, massive lumps of it. Everyone expects this dish to be made with mince, but why? I ate a version in Mexico made with big chunks of slow braised steak and it was a revelation. If you want to work this one during the week maybe think about investing in a slow cooker.   I put mine on low before I went to work and it was ready when I got back at 7pm - the beef was so tender you could eat it with a spoon. Your butcher should be able to sort you out with whole steaks rather than small cubes of braising steak if you give him (or her in this age of equality) some notice. A good tip here for all tomato based sauces is to add something acidic and some sugar. The sweet and sour elements really lift the sauce, as does the mixture of chillies: dry; fresh; pickled and smoked. For four:

Ingredients:

1kg chuck steak, trimmed and cut into four massive lumps

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 red peppers, deseeded

3 fat cloves of garlic, crushed

100g chorizo sausage, finely chopped

1 fresh red chilli, seeds in or out, finely chopped

10 jalapeno slices in vinegar and some of the vinegar, maybe 2 tbsp.

1 heaped tsp chilli powder, hot or mild

1 heaped tsp smoked paprika

1 heaped tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp cocoa powder

1 cinnamon stick

300ml full bodied red wine

2 tins good quality tomatoes

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 beef stock cube

2 tsp sugar

Salt and pepper

2 tins kidney beans

Sour Cream

Fresh Salsa

Method:

Preheat your oven to 150c. Roast your peppers on the flame of your cooker until blackened all over. Leave to cool then remove the skin, de-seed and chop. In a large casserole pot, fry the steaks in the oil 2 at a time until really well browned. Remove the steaks and in the same pan add the onion and fry until well caramelised. Add the garlic, chorizo and red pepper and fry until softened and the red oil comes out of the sausage. Add the chilli powder, paprika, fresh chilli, cumin, cocoa and cinnamon stick and fry for a further 2 mins. Add the tomatoes, jalapenos and vinegar, wine, stock cube, sugar and Worcestershire sauce. If the tomatoes are whole, give them a squish in the pan to break up a bit, then bring to the simmer. Cover and put in the oven and slow braise for 2 to 3 hours depending on the thickness of your steaks. Remove the pan lid and cook for a further 30 mins to allow the sauce to thicken. Remove one of the steaks and pull a little off to see if it is tender. If not return to the pan and cook for a further 30 mins. 

Have a good taste at this point and adjust the seasoning, and add a little more vinegar and sugar if you think it needs it. Return the steaks to the sauce, add the kidney beans and heat through for 10 mins, seasoning to taste. I serve the chilli in individual deep bowls and top with sour cream, fresh salsa (I assume you know how to make this? Get in contact if not and I will blog a recipe for you all) and coriander. Serve with a big bowl of steamed rice for people to help themselves.

Chipa Guazu - Sweetcorn Frittata

Sweetcorn is in bang in season right now and is sweet, plentiful and cheap. I was browsing through my food journals for a way to use this vegetable other than ‘on the cob’ and remembered this unusual South American frittata. When choosing your corn cobs don't be afraid to peel back the outer casing to have a look at the kernels. They should be plump, and ooze a sweet milky juice when squeezed with a thumb nail. If they look wrinkled and dry, don't bother.

We visited a fantastic market in Argentina one Sunday where the locals were dancing, the malbec was flowing and paper plates piled high with barbequed meats and small squares of chipa guazu where in every hand. I think this dish may originate from Paraguay, but Argentina is near enough that I don’t hold it against them making it their own. Corn masa (yellow flour made of ground corn or maize) can be bought in many supermarkets (try Sainsbury’s special selection), but don’t panic - wheat flour works just as well.

Ingrendients:

4 ripe, juicy corn on the cob, peeled

50-100ml milk

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 tbsp olive oil

200g mature cheddar

125ml double cream

125g corn masa or plain flour

4 large free range eggs, beaten

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Heat the oven to 200c. Cut the corn off the cobs with a sharp knife. Put 2/3 of the corn in a food processor and blend to a smooth paste with a little of the milk to loosen. Scrape the corn paste into a large bowl and throw in the remainder of the unprocessed corn.

In a frying pan, cook the onion in the oil over a low heat for 10 to 15 mins. You want them really soft and lightly golden but not brown or crispy. Mix the cheese, cream, milk and onions with the corn, stir well then add in the corn meal or flour and mix until incorporated.   Finally fold in the beaten eggs.  If the mix is a little dry add more milk - it should have the consistency of porridge. Season well to taste with the salt and pepper.

You need a baking dish that will hold the mix when filled to a thickness of 3 to 4cm. I used a square 20cm brownie tin. Line the tin with baking parchment and fill with the mixture. Bake for 20 to 30 mins until the dish is golden brown and set in the middle – the centre should feel spongy and firm to the touch. Allow to cool before cutting into squares but serve at room temperature for maximum flavour. This is good picnic food eaten with fingers and a crunchy green salad.

Sloe Gin & Blackberry Brandy

Beautiful pictures of food make for great cookbooks and blogs. However I do wonder if they put people off cooking in the same way that size zero models make clothes look beautiful, but in a way that is impossible to recreate yourself. So to double bolster your confidence people, a simple achievable and boozy way to use foraged fruit that is hanging from the trees and bushes right now...and with a suitably rustic photo. The above paragraph is how I feel about the matter, and nothing to do with the fact that I could only find some old beer bottles to use for this recipe.....honest.

Use a cheap but drinkable spirit for this recipe, a supermarket own brand is perfect or use any old half bottles you have kicking about and adjust the recipe accordingly. The method and ingredients are the same for both the sloe gin and blackberry brandy:

Ingredients:

Fruit - 1kg, really well picked through and washed

Spirit - 1 litre

Caster Sugar - 200g

Method:

Prick the sloes with a pin, fork or any other pointy thing you have to hand. The blackberries need no attention. Clean and sterilise the bottles by putting in the oven for 10 mins at 130c.   When the bottles are cool, divide the sugar evenly between the bottles (pay attention to the volumes of the bottles if a mix of shapes and sizes, less sugar in the small ones etc). Stuff the fruit in the bottles nearly to the neck then top up with spirit using a funnel. Seal and shake daily for a couple of weeks then leave to mature for at least 2 months before opening. Should last for a very long time....a few years at least.