Comfort food AND healthy at the same time. What’s not to love? As always I’m loading it with vegetables both for extra flavour and also for the extra health benefits.
Tips for cooking
Have you ever wondered why dishes like chilli con carne or bolognese taste so good at a restaurant but when trying to make these simple courses at home you end up with a somewhat bland, flavourless result?
Follow these tips and I promise you, the difference is remarkable.
When cooking mince it’s important that you cook until all the liquid has reduced. Otherwise, you’re basically boiling the meat. So to get that rich Italian restaurant feel you need to take your time. The longer you let it cook, the richer the taste. Makes sense, right?
Basic vegetable base when making lasagna, spaghetti bolognese and chilli con carne is:
Celery
Carrots
Onion
Chilli and/or garlic.
Chop them all as finely as possible and let it cook with the mince after the liquid has reduced. I promise you, these little tips make all the difference.
Chilli Con Carne with baked sweet potato and quark
Comfort food at its best. Packed with extra vegetables and served with healthier options.
Chilli Con Carne
- 400-500 g 5 % beef mince
- 1-2 carrot(s)
- 1 celery (rinsed and peeled)
- 1 large onion
- 1 green chilli
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 zucchini
- 1 tin mixed beans in chilli sauce (kidney beans works fine too)
- 1 tin organic chopped tomatoes
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp cumin
- Salt and pepper
Baked sweet potatoes
- 4 large sweet potatoes ((1 per person))
- Sea salt
- Olive Oil
Serve with
- 1 cup quark
- 1 handful coriander
Chilli Con Carne
Start by chopping onion, garlic and chilli finely. I like these types of dishes spicy, but you can add as little or as much chilli as you'd like.
Fry onion, chilli and garlic in a little oil. When onions are see through, add the mince. Using a spatula make sure you chop the mince so you don't end up with big lumps.
While the mince is frying, remember we want all the liquid to reduce, chop the carrot(s) and celery into small cubes. Add to the mix.
Shred or cut the zucchini into half moons and set aside.
When the mince has cooked so that there's no liquid left, add smoked paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Use a clean spoon and test weather it needs more spices. Adjust to taste.
Add the beans, chopped tomatoes and zucchini and bring to a boil. Then turn down the heat and let simmer for up to 1 day. If you don't have a lot of time 30-60 minutes will do. Remember to adjust seasoning frequently.
Baked Sweet Potato
Scrub and rinse the sweet potatoes. No need to peel. Cut a big cross on top and drizzle oil all over the potatoes. Put on a baking tray and sprinkle with sea salt
Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes. Make sure they're cooked through by testing with a fork. It needs to feel soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.
Serve with
Use quark as a healthier option to creme fraiche.
Chop coriander and put quark in a bowl.
When everything is cooked, open the sweet potato slightly and stuff with the chilli and quark. Sprinkle with coriander and potentially a few slices of green chilli.
Endless options
Chilli con carne is one of those dishes that you can customise to what you have int he fridge/cupboard, spices etc. If you have sweet corn these taste amazing in there as well. The same goes with overripe, wrinkled tomatoes. Just put them in there.
If you want, you can add chocolate for a rounded flavour. Or dark beer if you prefer. Just remember to reduce, reduce, reduce.
And if you feel it’s too spicy, you can easily fix this by adding ketchup/tomato puree, milk or sugar if you prefer.