Chilli Con Carne
Serves: 4
Time: 45 minutes
This is what I like to call the express version of a chili con carne as it has been simplified down a lot due to our little person in the house, so add more heat at the start if you like things hot.
Leftovers
This dish is very good for leftovers. If you have the means and are into buttery bread goodness then pop the remaining mix into toasted sandwiches with cheese for lunch.
Want more heat
If you want heat through this dish, add some chilli powder or chilli flakes or fresh chilli at the beginning along with the paprika. If you are hardcore - go with all three.
What you'll need
500g beef mince
1 small brown onion
4 cloves of garlic
1/3 bunch of fresh oregano
2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
2 tins of diced tomatoes
1 tin of kidney beans
1 1/2 cups of brown rice
1 avocado
1/2 lemon
4 tablespoons of greek yogurt
1/4 bunch of coriander
2 small hot red chillies
From the pantry
olive oil
salt and pepper
Optional Extras for Lunch
sandwich bread
butter
cheese
Multi tasking for greater speed
Putting your rice on to cook first means that you can have that working when you start the sauce. Having the sauce working at the same time as you are browning your meat also means you are saving time. There is less waiting, so everything should all come together perfectly and all at the same time.
Prep and Cook
Cook Rice
Place your rice in a large pot with at least 6 cups of water and a good pinch of salt.
Bring to the boil, then continue cooking until soft to the bite. Strain once cooked.
Sauté Onions
Cut onion into a fine dice.
Chop garlic and oregano.
In a large fry pan heat 1 tablespoon of oil and sauté the onion and garlic till nice and translucent.
Add spice and cook out for 30 seconds.
Add the tinned tomatoes and turn down to a simmer.
Brown Beef
In a separate fry pan brown off your beef mince. You will be better off to do this in two batches. Season well and cook each batch till nice and brown - the browner the meat, the better the flavour.
When the first batch is ready add it to the tomatoes and repeat with the next batch of mince.
Add the kidney beans and season well.
Simmer gently for at least 15 minutes or until the rice has finished cooking.
(I have a small person who only likes a little bit of spice so we don’t add any chilli to the actual cooking stage, but you absolutely can if you want a fabulous hot chilli).
Mix avocado
Cut avocado into bite sized pieces and squeeze over the juice of half a lemon.
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then roughly chop the leafy ends of your coriander and 1 fresh chopped chili.
Season and mix well.
Assemble
Serve the rice with the beef mix, top with avocado, a spoonful of greek yoghurt and sprinkle with fresh chopped chilli.
Enjoy!
Lunch tomorrow
Lunch can either be exactly the same or you can turn the leftover mince into toasted sandwiches with some grated cheese.