Recipes for scrumptious and reasonably healthy food

[Tim]

I have my favourite chilli recipe bubbling away in the slow cooker right now - been making chilli for countless years and this has to be my best recipe. I used to use cumin, but don't really like it in chilli. This is quite hot (which I like), adjust the chilli proportions if you like a milder recipe. Leaving out the seeds from the fresh chilli reduces the heat quite a bit.

500g lean mince
500g beef brisket, thinly sliced
2/3 large chopped Spanish onions
2/3 cloves of fresh garlic
1 large fresh red chilli, finely chopped with seeds
2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp sugar
2 bay leaves
2 tins quality chopped tomatoes (Napolina) or 6/8 fresh tomatoes
2 tins quality kidney beans (Napolina) (added towards end of cooking)
2 beef stock cubes
1 large tbsp tomato purée
1 bottle of Sol or Corona beer
Salt & pepper to taste
2/3 chunks of good quality 70% cocoa or higher dark chocolate (added towards end of cooking)

Add chopped onions to a heavy based pan and slowly sauté till translucent in a good glug of olive oil and butter. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two, then add the chilli powder, red chilli and paprika to the onions, sauté gently for 2-3 minutes, then add to slow cooker. Brown the meat in another glug of olive oil, drain when browned and add to cooker. Deglaze the pan with the tomatoes, add the beef stock cubes, beer, tomato purée, bay leaves and sugar - season to taste. When heated through add to cooker on high and reduce to low after 30 or so minutes when it has started to bubble. Add the kidney beans an hour before serving and the chocolate about 30 minutes before serving.

The combination of mince and brisket really gives the chilli a great 'bite' consistency, as well as flavour. The dark chocolate is a Mexican tip, really gives a deep richness to the flavour. Don't add too much, you shouldn't be able to actually taste it, it's a background note rather than a noticeable flavour. 6 to 8 hours on low in the slow cooker.

[struth]

Nice addition of chocolate...I will try that......I don't put Kidney beans in mine so substitute them....and I add some jack daniels

[struth]

Took delivery of a tub of double action baking powder from the USofA today. just made a very nice soda bread with it. pity you cant get it in this country...dunno why.

[Andrei]

I have my favourite chilli recipe bubbling away in the slow cooker right now - been making chilli for countless years and this has to be my best recipe. I used to use cumin, but don't really like it in chilli. This is quite hot (which I like), adjust the chilli proportions if you like a milder recipe. Leaving out the seeds from the fresh chilli reduces the heat quite a bit.

500g lean mince
500g beef brisket, thinly sliced
2/3 large chopped Spanish onions
2/3 cloves of fresh garlic
1 large fresh red chilli, finely chopped with seeds
2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp sugar
2 bay leaves
2 tins quality chopped tomatoes (Napolina) or 6/8 fresh tomatoes
2 tins quality kidney beans (Napolina) (added towards end of cooking)
2 beef stock cubes
1 large tbsp tomato purée
1 bottle of Sol or Corona beer
Salt & pepper to taste
2/3 chunks of good quality 70% cocoa or higher dark chocolate (added towards end of cooking)

Add chopped onions to a heavy based pan and slowly sauté till translucent in a good glug of olive oil and butter. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two, then add the chilli powder, red chilli and paprika to the onions, sauté gently for 2-3 minutes, then add to slow cooker. Brown the meat in another glug of olive oil, drain when browned and add to cooker. Deglaze the pan with the tomatoes, add the beef stock cubes, beer, tomato purée, bay leaves and sugar - season to taste. When heated through add to cooker on high and reduce to low after 30 or so minutes when it has started to bubble. Add the kidney beans an hour before serving and the chocolate about 30 minutes before serving.

The combination of mince and brisket really gives the chilli a great 'bite' consistency, as well as flavour. The dark chocolate is a Mexican tip, really gives a deep richness to the flavour. Don't add too much, you shouldn't be able to actually taste it, it's a background note rather than a noticeable flavour. 6 to 8 hours on low in the slow cooker.

Absolutely extraordinary! I have a strikingly similar recipe (sans sugar, beer, and cocoa). In NZ we (well Me actually) tend to use Topside rather than Brisket (a lean beef that seems to have everything going for it except fast frying.) I know a lot of Thai cooking calls for sugar but , but - well, gulp (did I really say that?) I'll give it a go!!!!!

[The Barbarian]

Aubergine Parmigiana is yummy & easy to make..

Eye just made one up ready to go in the Oven. I don't eat junk/Unhealthy food these days

Believe it or not that cost me around £3 to make.

[Tim]

I'll give it a go!!!!!

Nice one

I often use something sweet in hot recipes, to help temper the heat - as you say a lot of Asian cuisine uses sugar with chilli. I think chilli recipes after you have tried every variation over the years, often gravitate to something resembling the above. The smoked paprika adds a nice edge, but some of my friends don't like it, but they really like my recipe without it.

[Reffc]

Nice one

I often use something sweet in hot recipes, to help temper the heat - as you say a lot of Asian cuisine uses sugar with chilli. I think chilli recipes after you have tried every variation over the years, often gravitate to something resembling the above. The smoked paprika adds a nice edge, but some of my friends don't like it, but they really like my recipe without it.

I agree. I have a similar recipe, but I add more paprika (a tablespoon), a little more suger (2 tspns...preferably palm sugar) and a star anise. I also substitute red wine for the beer (350ml) and add a little fresh Tarragon to the dish once the chopped tomatoes have been added.

I lived and worked in the Far East on and off for a fair few years and by far the best cuisine experienced was in Thailand (I was there helping to design and supervise the Pathum Thani Rangsit raw water intake and water treatment works in the late 1990s).

The classic balance was heat, sour, savoury, sweet. They sometimes used complimentary flavoured ingredients too which set them apart from say Indian cuisine which was more about and explosion of different flavours on the palate.

[struth]

heres a recipe for a cold wet winters day in May. ...piping hot veg soup and toasted soda bread, all home made of course...

[hifilover]

Pot-roast silverside (ideal cut as roasted it's not the best cut and can go tough easy IMO but pot-roasted it's superb) Just make sure you've 5 hours spare whilst it cooks

• A good sized piece of Silverside (depends on how many your feeding but I always buy a bigger piece as it's great for leftovers and sandwiches)!
• Decent beef stock/veg stock cubes like Kallo
• Stock veg (celery, onions, carrots - as many as you like really depending on the size of your crock-pot)
• Bay leaves
• Whole pepper corns
• A thumb sized piece of fresh root ginger
• Rosemary, sage and thyme sprigs/leaves

First off get your crock pot (or a heavy based frying pan) on the gas and get it HOT with a good splash of olive oil; brown the silverside off giving it a good crispy browning all over
Chop up your stock-veg roughly and place them and the silverside into the crock-pot
Make up at least 1-1.5l of beef/veg stock and pour over the beef; ideally you want this 2/3 of the way up the meat, add water if necessary
Add a good few bay leaves, around 10 peppercorns (mixed is preferable) and crush the root ginger and add that also
Push the sprigs of rosemary, thyme in under the meat/stock veg and the same with a good handful of sage leaves

That's it! Whack it in the over (ideally up full blast and then turn it down to 180 when you put the meat in) and give it a good few hours to begin with; keep your eye on the stock and if it drops a lot top up slightly with water and turn the heat down to around 150/160 etc... (my oven's quite fierce so even at 160 it comes out perfect)

Needs ideally 4-5 hours in the oven and give it a good 45mins on the side to rest (just leave it in the crock-pot/stock) - Ideal time to get your roasties in and Yorkshire puds (if you're doing them) OR serve with smooth mash and some lovely steamed greens (beetroot leaves, chard, kale and spinach work best IMO)

[struth]

Pot-roast silverside (ideal cut as roasted it's not the best cut and can go tough easy IMO but pot-roasted it's superb) Just make sure you've 5 hours spare whilst it cooks

• A good sized piece of Silverside (depends on how many your feeding but I always buy a bigger piece as it's great for leftovers and sandwiches)!
• Decent beef stock/veg stock cubes like Kallo
• Stock veg (celery, onions, carrots - as many as you like really depending on the size of your crock-pot)
• Bay leaves
• Whole pepper corns
• A thumb sized piece of fresh root ginger
• Rosemary, sage and thyme sprigs/leaves

First off get your crock pot (or a heavy based frying pan) on the gas and get it HOT with a good splash of olive oil; brown the silverside off giving it a good crispy browning all over
Chop up your stock-veg roughly and place them and the silverside into the crock-pot
Make up at least 1-1.5l of beef/veg stock and pour over the beef; ideally you want this 2/3 of the way up the meat, add water if necessary
Add a good few bay leaves, around 10 peppercorns (mixed is preferable) and crush the root ginger and add that also
Push the sprigs of rosemary, thyme in under the meat/stock veg and the same with a good handful of sage leaves

That's it! Whack it in the over (ideally up full blast and then turn it down to 180 when you put the meat in) and give it a good few hours to begin with; keep your eye on the stock and if it drops a lot top up slightly with water and turn the heat down to around 150/160 etc... (my oven's quite fierce so even at 160 it comes out perfect)

Needs ideally 4-5 hours in the oven and give it a good 45mins on the side to rest (just leave it in the crock-pot/stock) - Ideal time to get your roasties in and Yorkshire puds (if you're doing them) OR serve with smooth mash and some lovely steamed greens (beetroot leaves, chard, kale and spinach work best IMO)

nice Dan....I take it thats just your portion