A Le Creuset recipe: chilli con carne

A Le Creuset recipe: chilli con carne

Here’s a delicious chilli con carne recipe that you can make in your Le Creuset casserole dish (or another brand if you don’t have a Le Creuset!). Recently Max was joined by his good friend Richard Brooks from Bites and Beats to cook up this meal, and we had a great time chatting through the process. We wanted to put a Le Creuset casserole dish and Nutribullet blender through their paces to show you how these great products can be a fantastic addition to your kitchen.

Below you will find the recipe in full, and we’ve included a fun video of us going through key parts of the process (there’s a lot bromance to enjoy as well 😂)! Note that whilst we used braised beef, in the ingredients list below we have included a note of alternative ingredients if you want to make a vegetarian version).

The chilli con carne recipe

Ingredients

• Spice mix:
  • 1 Tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp ground pepper
• 2 red peppers
• 9 large ripe tomatoes or 2x 400ml tins of plum tomatoes
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 2kg beef chuck or braising meat, cut into bite size chunks (vegetarian option: you can use 1 tin each of butter and black beans, or a meat-free alternative such as THIS™ ISN’T BEEF MINCE – our favourite meat-free brand!)
• 2 red onions, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1-3 tsp chipotle paste depending on desired heat level (we used Gran Luchito in the video)
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce (all purpose or light)
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce (vegetarian option: substitute for more soy sauce)
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp tomato puree
• 1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
• 400ml freshly brewed coffee
• 500ml (2 cups) chicken stock (vegetarian option: use vegetable stock)
• 2 cans of kidney beans
• Salt and black pepper, for seasoning

To Serve:

• 75g / ½ cup sour cream
• 1 cup coriander, finely chopped
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• Corn chips, rice or corn bread

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C/360˚F.
2. Lightly toast the spice mix on the hob until they have released their aroma (2 to 3 minutes). Reserve to the side.
3. Lightly rub the red peppers and tomatoes with half of the olive oil and place them on a baking tray. Roast in the oven for 35 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a large cast-iron casserole dish (we used a Le Creuset for ours) heat the remaining olive oil over a high heat. Season the beef chunks with salt and pepper, then sear in small batches. This will make sure your meat gets a lovely colour to it. Once one batch is ready, remove it from the pan and place it in a bowl on the side. Repeat until all your meat is browned. Be patient and don’t overcrowd the dish when you’re browning the meat.
5. Turn the heat down and add a little more olive oil into the same cast iron dish. Fry the onions slowly over a low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add the garlic and the dried oregano, then cook for another 5 minutes.
6. When ready, take the roasted veggies out of the oven. Remove the stalks and seeds from the peppers but keep the charred skins. Place them in a blender (we used a Nurtibullet which made light work of it!) with the toasted spices, the chipotle paste, fish sauce, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, tomato puree and brown sugar. Blend into a smooth sauce.
7. Now place the beef and any meat juices back into the casserole dish with the fried onion mixture and give it a stir. Pour in your sauce , add the coffee, chicken stock, and a good pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer with a lid on for 2½ hours.
8. After 2½ hours of simmering, remove the lid and check if the beef is tender by testing a small piece. Finally, add two tins of kidney beans with their juices and stir in. Let it cook all together for a further 30 minutes over medium heat, with the lid off.
9. Serve your chilli con carne while it’s nice and hot. Garnish with a drizzle of sour cream, a bit of coriander and red chilli (if you like them) and serve with slices of corn bread, a pile of rice or some corn chips. Enjoy!

Why use a casserole dish for a chilli?

Casserole dishes like the ones made by Le Creuset are a fantastic option for recipes like chilli con carne. You can use them on the hob or in the oven, and most will be fine to use on induction hobs (it always pays to check with your manufacturer though). Cast iron heats quickly and retains that heat well, and once you whack on the lid you can simmer away at a low temperature for hours without losing much moisture. Pots with an enamel coating are super easy to clean once you’re done, so the convenience factor is also high!

If you do make this recipe let us know how it goes, and if you made any personal tweaks we’d love to hear about them!