Recipe: Mel's Perfect Chilli con Carne, with Tomato Salsa

This is my perfected, utterly delicious, beef chilli recipe. Perfect with rice, with cheesy mash, in soft tortilla wraps, or just in a gurt big bowl on it's own!! Spiciness can be adjusted to personal taste, through keeping the seeds in the chillies or adding more. I rarely deliberately promote the use of organic meats, as I know many, like me, are on a budget, and we can't always afford organic products. Always stick to free-range though, no batteries for me! It's just, for me, with this perfected chilli recipe, organic beef mince does make a difference in the flavour I think.

Mel’s Perfect Chilli con Carne, with fresh tomato salsa (serves 4/5)

Chilli

2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 large handfuls fresh coriander, chopped
2 rashers smoked bacon, diced.
1 red chilli, seeded and diced
1 green chilli, seeded and diced
500g organic beef mince
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 tsp mixed herbs
2 tsp cumin
700ml vegetable stock
1 tbsp Worchester sauce
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
1 yellow pepper, seeded and diced
150g mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 tin borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
50g galaxy milk chocolate
Salt, pepper and sugar to taste

Salsa

4 large ripe tomatoes, diced
½ red onion, finely chopped
Large handful fresh coriander, chopped
Juice of half a lime
½ tsp soy sauce
Salt and pepper

1. Fry the red onion, coriander, garlic, chilli and bacon in the olive oil for 5 minutes. Add the beef and cook for a further 10 minutes on a high heat, browning the mince. Add the tomato paste and stir in for a couple of minutes. 

2. Add all of the other ingredients, and cook on a low heat for 1 hour. Meanwhile, mix together all the salsa ingredients together and set aside. Season the chilli to taste, and serve, with basmati rice and topped with the salsa.