Chilli con carne is an amazing mid-week meal. Make plenty of it and you can have the left overs the next day. Or even better, freeze it in batches so you’ve always got a healthy option to hand. Opt for the leanest mince you can – 5% fat is fab – and then add in as many veggies as you can. Use the recipe below as a base and then add whatever you like. It sounds like a lot of ingredients but you’ll have most in your cupboards already. This recipe is perfect for getting children to eat veg – if you chop them up fairly small, they won’t even realise they’re eating them!
Ingredients (for at least 4…or save some for next day):
- 400- 500g minced beef (the leaner the better)
- 2 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
- 1 tin of kidney beans
- 1 large red onion
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 chilli
- 1 courgette chopped
- Handful of mushrooms
- Good splash of red wine
- Generous dash of worcester sauce
- Sprinkling of mixed herbs
- Couple of tablespoons of tomato puree
- Vegetable stock
- Mug full of hot water
- Heaped teaspoon of cumin, coriander and paprika
- Pinch of hot chilli powder and cajun spice
- Salt and pepper to season
- Serve with wholemeal rice and fresh coriander
Method:
- Chop up all the veggies
- Heat up olive oil in large pan/ wok
- Cook mince and drain off any fat
- Add onions, garlic and bit of the fresh chilli and fry until slightly soft
- Add red wine and cook for a couple of minutes
- Pop in the tomatoes and water
- Crumbled vegetable stock, mixed herbs and rest of the chilli
- Add courgettes and mushrooms along with all the spices and worcester sauce
- Mix in kidney beans and tomato puree
- Season to taste
- Allow to simmer for as long as possible (it tastes even better the next day)
- Serve with rice and coriander. Enjoy!