Chilli and Tacos

The start of a new year inevitably means a new healthy eating plan, particularly after the indulgence of Christmas. I spent most of today wondering what to cook for dinner this evening but nothing seemed particularly inspiring. It wasn’t helped by the fact that it was absolutely freezing and the heating at work seemed to be broken, again.

Stephen suggested fajitas with taco shells but it didn’t get me all that excited, I was tempted by the idea of the taco shells though and decided chilli would be both warming and relatively low-fat.

I used our normal recipe from the Waitrose site but amended it slightly as I went along. It was brilliant (if I do say so myself!) and just what we needed after a hard, cold day at work.

Below are the quantities I used for two servings (the original recipe serves 8-10 and every time I make it I mean to amend the quantities so I know exactly what I’m doing and don’t have to work it out as I go):

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion
1 garlic clove
0.25kg lean minced beef
0.5 tbsp tomato purée (I left this out because I didn’t have any)
1/2 red chilli, chopped (this could/should be increased to 1 whole chilli)
1/2 tsp hot chilli powder
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cumin
150ml fresh vegetable stock
400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 squares G&B dark chocolate
S&P
1/2 tin red kidney beans
Worcester sauce

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the onion and garlic and fry gently until soft. Add the mince and fry until browned. Add the chilli and spices and fry for a further five minutes.

Add the stock, tomatoes and chocolate and season. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 1 hour until the meat is tender.

Add the beans, bring to the boil again and serve.