What an excellent idea......
To start my ball rolling, here's my chilli con carne recipe... Now, I realise that chilli (or is that 'chile' - I'm having a brain fart and can't remember the spelling) is a fairly basic thing, but done well, it's an absolute luxury. These quantities suit me down to the ground, the important things being good quality ingredients (as always), quick cooking of the mince and slow cooking of everything else.
800g steak mince (got to be decent meat otherwise it gets all grainy...)
2 tins chopped tomatoes
4-6 onions (red/white mix), half very finely chopped, half coarsely chopped
chopped garlic (however much you like, but at least 1 clove per onion)
1 pint beef stock (I use the concentrated stuff in little bottles)
some chillis - I use a mix of smoked jalapeno, ancho and habenero's, all dried, but use to your own tastes - just no 'chilli powder' please!
other spices:
2-3 dsp ground corriander
2-3 dsp ground cumin
lots of freshly ground black pepper
1-2 dsp plain flour
1) fry till slightly browned in some oil of your choosing, the meat (seasoned with plenty o pepper and salt) in batches and set aside each batch in large ovenproof pot/pan
2) add onions/garlic to same pan and gently fry 10 mins till golden and soft. After 5 mins, add the spices/chillis and cook for remaining 5 mins. Add to ovenproof pot.
3) add stock/tomatoes/flour to ovenproof pot and stir well and cover.
4) place in oven @ gas mark 2-3/150-170 celsius
5) cook for 2-3 hours, stirring every half hour
6) check and adjust seasoning/chilli heat every hour if necessary
7) enjoy with rice/tortillas/chips/nacho's/cold beer.
There, you should get the hang of it, and notice that the qauntities of ingredients arent that important, more the rough ratios and cooking method..... And as usual, it's much better the next day... When I cook it, we normally freeze most and use for quick dinners. It seems to get hotter the longer it's left!
Cheers,
Adam
