Organic Food?
There has been a report that says that organic food is no better than non-organic. I probably agree, but then I use it in most of my cooking.
So why?
Take my chilli con carne, that I cooked last night. I use lean organic beef as that is better for me because of its leanness. I also feel strongly that animals should be kept well and that some sort of mark like Organic, means that higher levels of husbandry are used. In fact, I think that near-organic beef is better, as farmers who grow quality beef say that the organic rules are not always to the animals best health and make the product too expensive.
Anyway, the chilli con carne was great!
Chilli Con Carne
This chilli con carne was pretty simple and came from the BBC.
These are the ingredients for 6-8. I halved it and made 3, of which I froze two.
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1kg/2¼lb lean minced beef
- 250ml/9fl oz red wine
- 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 red chillies, thinly sliced, or 3-4 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 stick cinnamon
- good shake of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 beef stock cube
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 x 400g can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 large bunch coriander leaves, roughly chopped
- wedges of lime, to serve
This is the method used.
- Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan with a lid and fry the onion and garlic until softened. Increase the heat and add the mince, cooking quickly until browned and breaking down any chunks of meat with a wooden spoon.
- Pour in the red wine and boil for 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, fresh chilli or chilli flakes, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and Worcestershire sauce and crumble in the stock cube. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook over a gentle heat for about 50 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally until the mixture is rich and thickened.
- Add the kidney beans and fresh coriander. Cook for a further ten minutes, uncovered, before removing from the heat, adding any extra seasoning if necessary. Serve with rice, guacamole, sour cream and a big green salad.
The original recipe gives a few tips as well.
The chilli is much tastier a day or two after it’s cooked because the flavours develop and the texture becomes richer. Simply leave to cool, stick in the fridge and gently heat before serving. If you’re eating the chilli on the day you prepared it, any leftovers can be frozen in individual portions in well-sealed sandwich bags, then reheated by boiling from frozen in a saucepan of water for about 15-20 minutes until steaming hot.
I just froze the other two portions.
The Anonymous Widower 