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Dish of the (yester)Day...
Jul. 5th, 2009 05:52 pmOn a happier note than the past couple of posts...
I like chilli, and the Fourth of July seemed like a good reason to make one (as if I need an excuse!) Diane asked me to produce something a bit different, so after a rummage in the store-cupboard to find what was there, I put a couple of less common chilies in the oven - they were already "dried," but an extra half-hour at 100C/200F made them easier to grind - then whizzed them to powder in the electriccoffee spice mill.
(We have two, one for spices, the other for (gasp) coffee, and we've only ever mixed them up once - of course after grinding a couple of smoked habanero chilies and forgetting to clean up properly. The resulting coffee was hot in a whole new way. That was the day we decided the two mills did need labels after all...)
I also dried and ground fresh oregano from the herb-patch, then toasted whole cumin seeds in a dry pan and ground them too. To be honest, this was because we’d run out of ground cumin, but the toasted home-ground stuff tastes even better and I'll bear it in mind for the future.
Rather than the usual minced (ground) beef, I used stewing meat from our local craft butcher. This is sold in quite big chunks, so I cut them much smaller; a fiddly task, but worth it, because the texture is deliciously different to the usual version made with hamburger mince.
All measurements are approximate, all times are vague.
One kilo / 2 pounds stewing beef, chopped to 5 mm / 1/4 inch dice
4 onions, finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoonful ground black pepper
1 tablespoonful ground pasilla chili
1 tablespoonful ground New Mexico Green chili
3 teaspoonfuls ground cumin
2 teaspoonfuls dry oregano
500 ml / 1 pint beef stock
2 tins chopped tomatoes, crushed or passed through a colander to remove chunks
2 tins kidney beans, drained and rinsed (optional)
oil or fat for frying
No salt is required: I made the stock from a Knorr "Stockpot" (as plugged over here by Marco Pierre White) - better than a cube, but still with salt as its second ingredient (after water... Yes. Quite.) Remember that tinned beans are also packed in salted water. Home-made beef stock and soaked dried beans are another matter, but I'd still taste first and salt second.
Put about two teaspoonfuls of oil or fat in a frying pan and gently fry the onions and garlic, stirring often, until soft and golden.
Meanwhile put two teaspoonfuls of oil or fat in a large casserole and gently fry the beef, stirring often, until all the red has gone; Michael McClaughlin, in the Manhattan Chili Co. Cookbook, says "until grey," which sounds a bit yuck, but he means Don't brown the beef: it gives a grilled-burger taste that doesn't work in chili and it seals in juices that should be allowed to get out and play with the other flavours.
Add the onion/garlic mixture to the beef, then all the dry ingredients, and stir together over low heat for 5 minutes.
Add the stock and tomatoes, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook, uncovered, for 2-3 hours, until the meat becomes really tender and the chili has thickened. Stir frequently, and watch out for sticking. There should be no need to add extra liquid, but if so, do it only in small amounts.
If you're adding beans, then check the tenderness of the meat and add them about 1/2 an hour before the chili's likely to be done.
Serve it with rice, tortillas, hominy, pasta or even crumbled crackers. The flavour is complex but quite mild; there's no more burn than Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce, which is my yardstick for nervous folk who want to know "How hot is it really?"
This makes enough for about six people. Since there's only us, we were able to leave a lot of it overnight for the flavours to mature and get friendly with each other. Like curries, goulashes and other spiced stews, it's even better the next day. Yesterday’s was good, today's is amazing.
I like chilli, and the Fourth of July seemed like a good reason to make one (as if I need an excuse!) Diane asked me to produce something a bit different, so after a rummage in the store-cupboard to find what was there, I put a couple of less common chilies in the oven - they were already "dried," but an extra half-hour at 100C/200F made them easier to grind - then whizzed them to powder in the electric
(We have two, one for spices, the other for (gasp) coffee, and we've only ever mixed them up once - of course after grinding a couple of smoked habanero chilies and forgetting to clean up properly. The resulting coffee was hot in a whole new way. That was the day we decided the two mills did need labels after all...)
I also dried and ground fresh oregano from the herb-patch, then toasted whole cumin seeds in a dry pan and ground them too. To be honest, this was because we’d run out of ground cumin, but the toasted home-ground stuff tastes even better and I'll bear it in mind for the future.
Rather than the usual minced (ground) beef, I used stewing meat from our local craft butcher. This is sold in quite big chunks, so I cut them much smaller; a fiddly task, but worth it, because the texture is deliciously different to the usual version made with hamburger mince.
All measurements are approximate, all times are vague.
One kilo / 2 pounds stewing beef, chopped to 5 mm / 1/4 inch dice
4 onions, finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoonful ground black pepper
1 tablespoonful ground pasilla chili
1 tablespoonful ground New Mexico Green chili
3 teaspoonfuls ground cumin
2 teaspoonfuls dry oregano
500 ml / 1 pint beef stock
2 tins chopped tomatoes, crushed or passed through a colander to remove chunks
2 tins kidney beans, drained and rinsed (optional)
oil or fat for frying
No salt is required: I made the stock from a Knorr "Stockpot" (as plugged over here by Marco Pierre White) - better than a cube, but still with salt as its second ingredient (after water... Yes. Quite.) Remember that tinned beans are also packed in salted water. Home-made beef stock and soaked dried beans are another matter, but I'd still taste first and salt second.
Put about two teaspoonfuls of oil or fat in a frying pan and gently fry the onions and garlic, stirring often, until soft and golden.
Meanwhile put two teaspoonfuls of oil or fat in a large casserole and gently fry the beef, stirring often, until all the red has gone; Michael McClaughlin, in the Manhattan Chili Co. Cookbook, says "until grey," which sounds a bit yuck, but he means Don't brown the beef: it gives a grilled-burger taste that doesn't work in chili and it seals in juices that should be allowed to get out and play with the other flavours.
Add the onion/garlic mixture to the beef, then all the dry ingredients, and stir together over low heat for 5 minutes.
Add the stock and tomatoes, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook, uncovered, for 2-3 hours, until the meat becomes really tender and the chili has thickened. Stir frequently, and watch out for sticking. There should be no need to add extra liquid, but if so, do it only in small amounts.
If you're adding beans, then check the tenderness of the meat and add them about 1/2 an hour before the chili's likely to be done.
Serve it with rice, tortillas, hominy, pasta or even crumbled crackers. The flavour is complex but quite mild; there's no more burn than Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce, which is my yardstick for nervous folk who want to know "How hot is it really?"
This makes enough for about six people. Since there's only us, we were able to leave a lot of it overnight for the flavours to mature and get friendly with each other. Like curries, goulashes and other spiced stews, it's even better the next day. Yesterday’s was good, today's is amazing.
