Chilli Con Carne Recipe

There are many recipes out there for a good Chili Con Carne. Some different quite a bit and I believe the fun is in the variety and experimentation. This is a basic recipe I have modified over the years and I have included a couple of variations you can also do to change the flavour if you wish. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

2 Tins of kidney beans (in chilli sauce if available)

1 Tin of chopped tomatoes

1 Tin of plum tomatoes

1 Large onion

3 or 4 large peppers of different colours

3 or 4 Jalapenos to taste

1 Pack of diced beef around 700g (or casserole steak)

2 teaspoons chilli powder

Extra and variation ingredients

1) Del Sol Whole Chipotle Peppers (chipotles en adobo)

2) One whole fresh naga chilli.

Preparation time 20 minutes

Cooking time: 2 days for maximum tender meat

or if you are in a rush cook for 1hr 30min until meat is cooked through

Serves: 4 people or 2 hungry Mexicans

Easy Recipe.

 1) Roughly chop up the large onion, peppers and chilli 

2) Open all tins of tomatoes and kidney beans ready

3) Add all ingredients to a large pan or slow cooker if you have one.   

4) Sprinkle on the chilli powder.

5) Bring the pan to the boil, stir all ingredients then turn onto your lowest heat and leave covered. 

6) Check and stir occasionally. You will see all the ingredients start to break down if you are slow cooking.

7) I find the best results come from cooking on low heat for a minimum of 24 hours.

8) Enjoy with rice and your favourite Mexican beer or tequila!

Variations you can do to create a different flavour

Variation one smokey chilli: Along with your tinned ingredients you can also add some chipotle chillis to give a beautiful smokey flavour you can use a can of Whole Chipotle Peppers (chipotles en adobo)

Variation two fruits powerful chilli: Once you have placed all ingredients in your pan you can add in a single whole naga chilli. This will give an intense fruity spicy flavour to your overall chilli. You then have two options. first to leave the naga in to give someone a surprise, or to fish out the naga at any stage during cooking or before serving varying the flavour and power of spice in your chilli con carne. This can be made easier by putting the naga into some muslin and attach it to string tied to the handle of the pan.

Blairs Death Rain Chipotle Crisps

If your a chilli fan and you go to buy some crisps or potato chips you will no doubt feel let down by the supermarkets claims on packs of Doritos and Pringles that they have 'hot chile' flavour or be the hottest potato chips. At one of the West Dean Chilli Fiesta in 2010 I stumbled across Blairs Death Rain crisps, and I particularly love the Death Rain Chipotle flavour. Much more punch than normal crisps and the wonderful smokey chilli heat, Blairs have done it again expanding on their range for the lover of true chilli heat claiming on the bag to make snacks that taste great but most of all make you FEEL ALIVE.

There are other great flavours too to check out, click on the pictures below to find out more about Death Rain Cheddar and Death Rain Habanero happy snacking!

Chilli Pepper Anti Cancer effects

The Chile pepper has shown anti-cancer effects in research with mice. Capsaicin, the active ingredient in chile pepper and the source of its heat, is the cancer-fighting element.

Capsaicin is also thought to have many posotive properties: Boosting metabolism, lowering the risk of ulcers, improve heart health and relieveing muscle pain and itchiness

Research led by Bharat Aggarwal, Ph.D (Professor in the Department of Experimental Therapeuticsusing) into capsaicin nutraceuticals in mice resulted in suppressing and blocking pro-inflammatory pathways in cancer cells.

"Symptoms common in cancer patients, such as depression, fatigue, neuropathic pain, metastases and tumor growth, are due to inflammation. By using capsaicin, we can inhibit these things."

Also, major risk factors for the most common types of cancer, such as obesity, alcohol, tobacco, radiation and environmental pollutants, are linked to cancer and its metastases through chronic inflammation.
A study tested capsaicin cream for the management of surgical neuropathic pain in 99 cancer patients. Each used capsaicin cream for eight weeks followed by eight weeks of placebo cream on painful sites four times daily. Despite experiencing side effects of skin burning and redness, patients preferred capsaicin cream to the placebo for its pain-relieving qualities.

My Partner is running to raise money for Macmillian cancer support to help pateints with cancer ifyou are interested you can support her charity run here and help the patients that need it most

Though further studies are needed to better understand capsaicin's potential in the prevention and treatment of human cancer. Aggarwal believes that using capsaicin nutraceuticals as an option in cancer treatment, with a physician's consultation, shouldn't be overlooked.

For me this further supports my chilli eating habbit and spreads the word about the increasing health benefits of this wonderful innocent looking pepper. You can read the full article here:

http://www2.mdanderson.org/cancerwise/2011/04/chile-pepper-cancer-cant-stand-the-heat.html

Grow your own Chilli Plants: Overwintering

When growing your own and once your crop has been harvested, for a bigger crop the next year you can overwinter your plants. Most chilli plants can be treated as perennial house plants but may need some pruning in the winter. Not everyone recommends it due to a higher chance of disease, but I have had many successes by doing it and some bumper crops! Overwintered plants usually produce a better crop in their second year as the plants can get started more quickly in the spring and enjoy a longer growing season.

• Pick all the fruit from your plants even the immature fruits.
• Prune your plants to about four inches from the base once the leaves begin to drop.  
• Pot your chilli back up if it has been in the ground.
• Be careful not to over water your precious plant, a small amount every ten days should be fine not letting the soil dry out.  
• Keep all plants frost free aiming for a temperature between 5C ans 12C.

My overwintered crop from 2010 was not as successful as I had hoped, some plants where shelteringng in the summer house and as you can see from the picture above the snow fell heavy and many plants were lost. I have however saved a few and pictured below is a black naga plant. I hope to grow my first naga this year!

Black Naga Chilli Plant