Leftovers for Lunch: Chilli Con Carne

My first ever exerience of Chilli Con Carne was from a tin. I did not have high expectations. It turned out however, to be absolutely bloomin' delicious.

While I was at uni, my now-fiance and I had very little money, and even a tin of stagg was out of our budget. We tried to make EVERYTHING ourselves, from scratch, to reduce costs. But no matter what recipe I tried, or what combination of spices, I just couldn't capture that depth of flavour needed to make a good Chilli. As a result, Chilli fell out of my repetoire.

That is, until about a year ago, when I came across, completely by accident, a wonderful discovery at the supermarket.

Look in the beans and pulses isle, and you will find Kidney Beans, tinned, in CHILLI sauce. What does this mean, I wondered? Is it a very hot sauce? Is it watery, or thick? Is it smooth or chunky?

So, I bought it, and gave it a try. The 'chilli sauce' is in fact like a delicious spicy barbeque-style sauce. By adding this sauce, along with the kidney beans, to your chilli, you are guaranteed to achieve that smoky, spicy flavour that a proper chilli should have.

So, here it is, my own (almost completely) homemade Chilli Con Carne recipe.

Chilli Con Carne
Serves 2 for dinner + 2 for lunch

Recipe	Ingredients
First, heat the oil in the pan, and then add the onion. Sauté over a low heat until softened and glistening. Add the garlic and fry for a further minute.	1tbsp olive oil
	1 large onion, finely chopped
	1 clove garlic, mashed
Add the minced beef and fry over a very high heat until browned. Reduce the heat and add the dried chilli and chilli powder.	500g minced beef
	1 tsp dried chilli flakes
	1 tsp hot chilli powder (mix of chilli, cumin, cayenne etc)
After 1 minute, add the chopped tomatoes, kidney beans and their chilli sauce and the tomato purée.	Tin chopped tomatoes
	Tin kidney beans in chilli sauce
	1tbsp tomato purée
Simmer for 25 minutes or so, until the tomatoes have disintegrated and the chilli is nice and thick. You'll need to stir regularly, or the chilli will stick to the bottom of the pan. I recommend using a cast iron casserole pan for this recipe, metal pans just don't produce the same result.
You may want to simmer for longer if you have time, to develop the flavours, in which case, check on the chilli regularly and top up with a few tablespoons of water to stop it drying out.
Serve with plain boiled rice. Yum.

When I'm serving this up for dinner, I put 1/2 the rice into two tupperware pots, then top with half the chilli con Carne. Pop it in the f ridge overnight, and then reheat in the microwave for 3.5 mins for lunch the next day. It'll taste even better than the day before, guaranteed!