Lamb Chili (serves 4-6)

• 2lb diced (small) lamb (any size)
• 3tblsp olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic (at least) peeled and crushed
• 2 jalapeno peppers seeded and chopped
• 2 tblsp chili powder (adjust to taste) or your own personal blend*
• 1 tblsp whole cumin seeds
• 1 tsp oregano
• 3 large ripe tomatoes diced
• 1 8 oz carton Passata
• 2 green sweet pepper seeded
• 1tblsp Hendersons relish (or Worcs. sauce) and chopped
• 1 pound soaked, cooked & drained kidney beans or 2 cans ready to use (drained).
• Salt to taste.

Again use a large enamelled iron casserole dish pref. Brown the lamb in the oil with the onion garlic, chilli owder and cumin seeds. When meat is brown and onions soft but not brown add everything else. Add enough water to cover (if necessary) Simmer for at least 11/2 hours and the beans are very soft. Always watch that it doesn’t dry out.

(Alternatively put it in the slow cooker)

Chilli powder:

This just had the ingredients, I guess it’s just a case of either grinding them all up using a spice grinder or whizzing them in the food processor, When I last made chilli powder I used my old coffee grinder to grind the ingredients.

• 12 dried, cored and seeded chiles – ancho, pasilla, whatever you’re growing.
• 3/4 tblsp freshly ground cumin seeds
• 1 tblsp oregano leaves (whole if poss.)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt.

Well here is one way to use the left overs, it’s great for parties too…..i can’t find the pic so if anyone makes them before i have time to given them another go then please send me it.

Ingredients

• left over chilli con carne
• 1 packet of filo pastry
• melted butter
• guacamole (optional)
• soured cream (optional)
• Tabasco sauce (optional)
• Cheddar cheese (grated)

Method

1. Take a sheet of filo out of the packet, brush with melted butter, cut into 6 pieces.
2. Take one of the pieces and place in a muffin tin, then take another piece and place in the opposite direction in the same muffin section, repeat until you have filled your muffin tray. the should end up looking a bit like this (sorry that’s the closest thing i could find)
3. Fill each cup with chilli con carne and sprinkle with cheese
4. Bake in a hot oven for 15-20mins or until golden and crispy
5. Remove from muffin tray, add a spoon of guacamole or soured cream and some Tabasco to each and serve.

You could also make little mini pasties or fold them over into won-ton shapes like this

Wendy Richard, star of EastEnders and fixture of British TV entertainment, was laid to rest yesterday. The service at St Marylebone Parish Church will be remembered, partly for a glittering lineup of soap personalities, but also for a great recipe. At the actor’s request, her personal directions for chilli con carne were printed on the order of service.

A recipe is a lovely thing to leave, and chilli is food with no pretensions beyond warmth and hospitality. It’s a big, sprawling, messy dish, to be eaten among friends who aren’t too fussed about the tablecloth. But as befits Albert Square’s uber-matriarch, this is no ordinary chilli.

Wendy’s Chilli con Carne

Ingredients
3lb lean minced beef
4 Schwartz mild chilli
1lb mushrooms – chopped
1 tin sweet pimentos
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp coriander
3 tins red kidney beans
Tomato paste
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1lb onions – chopped
4 garlic cloves
¼ bottle tarragon vinegar
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp oregano
3 tins tomatoes
½ bar Meunier’s cooking chocolate (green wrapper)

Method
• Fry onions in little olive oil with crushed garlic.
• Add meat together with all seasonings.
• Add rest of veg, together with made-up chicken stock
(there should be enough to cover).
• Add chocolate and tomato paste.
• Gently simmer for about three hours, stirring occasionally.
• Serve with boiled rice or pasta
• Grated cheese is also a good addition, sprinkled over the top.
• The dish freezes well & gains in strength of flavour.

I Thank You

W.R. (MBE)

OK. There may be chilli-heads out there that are going to squeal. So little cumin? Mushrooms? Surely, in Texas they specify Scotch Bonnet and Bird’s Eye chillies. But this recipe obviously isn’t about authenticity of ingredients. It’s about the authenticity of a person.

For a start, it’s bloody huge – the woman who wrote this wants to feed a lot of people. It’s rich and sumptuous, so she cares to feed them well. It’s clearly evolved over the years; mad little touches like tarragon vinegar can only result from time spent happily fine-tuning an old family favourite.

All that chocolate makes it sweet and deep, not scorchingly macho. I love that she was thrifty enough to freeze the leftovers. Best of all I love that, like most brilliant home cooks, she leaves you guessing about something: “4 Schwartz mild chilli”? What does that mean? Pinches? Jars? Either would work, and the mystery is everything.

Will I go and cook Wendy’s chilli? No. A recipe isn’t just a set of instructions for cooking, it’s a personal gift. When someone gives you a recipe, they are not teaching you how to do something, but wanting you to experience something they loved.

Reading this, I know more about Wendy Richard than I did. I can imagine the get-togethers where the chilli was eaten and enjoyed – and, above all, I can feel the creativity and love she put into it. And that’s a beautiful way to remember her.

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/tvandradioblog/2009/mar/10/wendy-richards-chilli-recipe)

You can also find the chilli up north recipe for chilli con carne here or have a look my other chilli recipes

Ingredients:

• 250g of kidney beans or mixed mexican beans or beans of your choice (cooked and drained)
• 500g of minced beef (i say ish as the pack i bought was something like 454g…..don’t know why morrisons don’t do 500g)
• 2 beef stock cubes
• 2 red onions (can use white ones if you’re reddist)
• 2 carrots
• 1 Green Pepper
• 1 red pepper
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 4 chillis of your choice – i used a mix of dried red chillis, frozen carribean red hot and some fresh green thai hot)
• 2 x 400g tins of tomato’s
• 1 small tin of sweetcorn
• 2 cubes of dark chocolate
• 1 tablespoon ish of tomato puree
• salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 bayleaves
• cinnamon (to taste)
• 3 teaspoons of paprika
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• large handful of chopped parsley
• tabasco
• olive oil

then tortillas, grated cheese, rice, soured cream, guacamole and tabasco to serve with (the tabasco can be added to the dish when cooking but as em doesn’t like it too hot i add it to mine before serving)

you can also add a splash of dark beer or tequila when cooking the beef to add a little extra flavour

Method

1. chop the onions,carrots and peppers up and set aside. (you can grate the carrots and onions if you want)
2. heat a large pan or casserole dish on the stove and add some olive oil, crumble in the stock cubes in, when they start to dissolve add your mince and cook for a few mins until browned.
3. remove the meat with a slotted spoon and then cook the onions and peppers in the remaining juices and oil for 5-6 mins until everything is soft.
4. crush and add the garlic, add the chillis and the sweetcorn and cook for a couple more mins  return the meat to the pan
5. then add the tomatoes,tomato puree, paprika, beans, cumin, salt, pepper, honey and bay leaves.
6. cover and simmer for at least 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Either that or put it in a slow cooker and cook for 8 hours
7. then just before serving, check your seasoning and adjust if necessary, grate the chocolate into it and stir followed by adding in the chopped parsley and adjust with tabasco if needed.
8. serve with choice of accompaniment and a cold beer…enjoy!!

A Nice hearty chilli for those cold winter days