Gordon Ramsay's Chilli con Carne

# 1 large onion or 2 banana shallots, chopped
# 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
# 1 tsp crushed chilli
# 1 tsp dried thyme or 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked and roughly chopped
# olive oil, for frying
# 500g good quality beef mince (apx 1 pound)
# 1 tsp ground cumin
# 2 tsp sweet paprika
# 1 tsp dried oregano
# 3 fresh tomatoes or 1 beef tomato, roughly chopped
# 400g chopped tomatoes (apx 1 can)
# 100-200ml chicken or beef stock (apx 4 to 6 oz)
# 3 tbsp tomato puree
# 1 cinnamon stick
# 1 bay leaf
# 400g kidney beans, drained and rinsed (apx 1 can)
# salt and pepper
# Handful of chives, chopped
# 200ml soured cream (optional garnish, not counted in nutrition info)

1. Sweat the onion, garlic, chilli and thyme in 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan. At the same time, brown the mince in a separate pan over moderate heat in a little oil
2. Add the dried spices to the onion mixture and cook until they release their aroma. Then stir in the beef and mix well. Add the fresh and tinned tomatoes and leave to cook down a little for about 5 minutes.
3. Pour in the chicken or beef stock and stir in tomato puree to taste. Drop the cinnamon and bay leaf in then bring to the boil and leave to simmer.
4. Once the sauce is beginning to thicken add the kidney beans and leave to cook for another 5-10 minutes to allow the beans to soak up the flavours. Check for seasoning.
5. Mix the chives and soured cream together and serve on the side. Accompany with potato, rice or bread.


Number of Servings: 5

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user CMWILSON101.