Have a large pan ready, capable of 4-5 litres capacity.
Ingredients:
Stage one
3 packets of quality Steak Mince (1.2-1.5kg) , I used Aberdeen Angus mince.
3 large strong white Onions
2 large banana Shallots
1 red Onion
2 large pinches of Saffron.
1 Tbsp of dried Cumin
1 Tbsp of dried Ginger
4-6 small chilli's - this is a medium spice level.
2 tbsp of Smoked Paprika
2 tsp of Chilli powder
2 large cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
1 large squeeze of good Tomato Puree
Stage 2
1 litre of Beef stock (fresh if possible)
100g of dark Chocolate (70% solids is fine)
4 large Red peppers
3 tins of chopped plum Tomatoes
4 tins of Kidney Beans
1 glass Red wine
1 tbsp of Cognac
Stage 3
Juice of 6 Limes
6 drips of sesame oil
1 tbsp of good Soy sauce
1x 300ml tub of Creme Fraiche
50-100ml of Vinegar
3 large sprigs of Thyme
Good quality salt, like Maldon salt, to be added at the very end.
Stage 1
This is actually a very easy recipe as you cook the ingredients in 3 stages ( labelled above).
First start of my preparing all of the onions, roughly chopped.
Put olive oil in a large pan, allow to heat to medium temperature.
Add the onions, garlic and mince steak into the pan, let it sizzle away together until the meat is browned . Depending on the size of the pan, you might want to add the beef in stages, put it is important that it cooks with the onions so it can absorb the onions juices. This should take about 5 minutes, constantly stirring the mixture.
Add the remaining ingredients from stage one and stir in well for another 2-3 minutes.
Stage 2
Add the Beef stock all in one go, turn the heat up to get a furious boil going.
Then add the remaining ingredients of stage 2 and keep stirring. This will fill your pan quite nicely and don't worry if it looks quite liquid at this stage, we want it to reduce it for an hour or so to thicken up and concentrate those flavours. You will now need to turn this down to a light simmer, or En Tremblant as the French describe it. This is where the time element comes in, the contents of the pan now need to simmer for around 60-90 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop anything sticking to the bottom. We are trying to reduce the liquid down significantly so that we get a good thick meaty sauce.
Stage 3
The taste of a good Chilli in my opinion should be this; Meaty, salty, spicy and sour.
When the Chilli has reduced after 90 minutes or so ( dont be afraid to let it cook for longer on a low heat, just do not let it dry out) , we are going to finish off the sauce with some very tasty ingredients.
You need more limes and vinegar than you might imagine. Add all the remaining ingredients apart from the creme fraiche, this goes in at the very end.
Taste the Chilli now, see if it needs more salt, or if the sourness needs to be cranked up a notch by either adding more fresh lime juice or Vinegar.
When you are happy with the taste, turn off the heat and stir in the entire tub of Creme Fraiche.
Serve with jacket potatoes, warm garlic bread or rice. Also a nice bowl of natural yogurt, refried beans or guacamole goes down well.
The great thing about this recipe is that you can keep it in the pan for a day or so, thoroughly reheating it every time but bringing it up to temperature slowly. Trust me the flavours get better when you do this.
I usually freeze this in portions because i deliberately make too much.
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