Donal Skehan recipe: The best ever steak chilli

The best ever steak chilli
The best ever steak chilli
Serves: 6
Course: Main Course
Cooking Time: 1 hr 15 mins

Ingredients

  • 2tbs rapeseed oil
  • 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
  • 3 small carrots, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, trimmed and finely chopped
  • 2 red peppers, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 2tsp chilli powder
  • 1tsp smoked paprika
  • 2tsp ground cumin
  • 500g rib steak, finely chopped
  • 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
  • 1tbs Worcestershire sauce
  • 1tbs treacle
  • 400g tin each of kidney beans and chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • Sea salt and ground black pepper
  • Crusty bread or tortilla chips, crème fraîche and/or coriander leaves, to serve

This is the perfect pot-luck recipe that can be transported in the pot it was cooked in. Serve warm with all the extras and you have a meal ideal for a crowd. Seek out rib steak for this and chop it so it still holds its shape during the cooking process – an altogether different chilli.

Place a large cooking pot or flame-proof casserole pan over a medium–high heat and add the oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, celery and peppers. Then stir through the spices – the chilli powder, smoked paprika and cumin. Fry the mixture for seven to eight minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

Add the meat to the pan and fry gently until lightly browned, stirring regularly. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and then fill one of the tins with hot water and pour this in also. Add the Worcestershire sauce and treacle.

Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring every now and then. Before the end of the cooking time add in the kidney beans and chickpeas. If it needs a little extra water, add some.

When the chilli has reduced, season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Serve in deep bowls with crusty bread or tortilla chips, a dollop of crème fraîche and coriander leaves, if you wish.