The best ever chilli con carne

This addictive dish is not only a super delicious comfort food but it’s also an incredibly straight forward option to whip up for dinner! It’s fantastic for serving up to a group of hungry guests but it’s also great for enjoying on your own, with some tortilla chips, on a quiet night in.

If you have any extra veggies to use up, don’t be afraid of throwing them in to add some extra flavour and colour into the mix. Serve it up with your choice of rice, pasta or side of bread and you’re good to go!

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 red capsicum, chopped with seeds removed
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 500g lean minced beef
• 1 beef stock cube
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 410g can red kidney beans

Method

1. Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Cook onion, stirring often, for about 5 minutes, or until soft, and slightly translucent. Add garlic, capsicum, hot chilli powder, paprika and cumin. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes.
2. Increase heat. Add meat to pan. Break up with wooden spoon. Stir and cook for 5 minutes, or until mince is completely browned.
3. Crumble beef stock cube into 300ml hot water. Pour into pan with mince mixture. Add chopped tomatoes. Tip in dried marjoram, sugar and salt and pepper. Add tomato purée and stir well. Simmer gently. Bring to the boil. Stir. Cover.
4. Reduce heat until gently bubbling. Leave for 20 minutes. Occasionally stir. If starting to dry out, add a couple of tablespoons of water. Simmer until sauce looks thick.
5. Drain and rinse red kidney beans. Stir into pot. Bring to the boil without the lid for another 10 minutes, adding a little more water if it looks too dry. Season to taste. Replace lid, turn off heat and leave to stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serve.