The Perfect Winter Chilli Recipe

Welcome to the start of 2020! Christmas and New Year are behind us, you’ve probably had your fill of holiday food, and if you’re anything like us you’ve overindulged throughout the last few weeks of December. There are no more turkey leftovers in the refrigerator, all the Christmas cake is gone, and you’re thinking about starting the year with a diet. 

While we’ll never try to put anyone off the idea of a healthy diet (even if statistics suggest you’re better off waiting until February to do so if you want to succeed with your goals), we’re all entitled to the occasional cheat or treat meal. We also need to keep ourselves warm until winter is over, and so we’ve come up with a recipe that won’t do too much damage to your diet plans and will also provide you with a great source of winter heat!

We are, of course, talking about chili con carne. This classic meal might owe its origins to the south of America and Mexico, but it’s been adopted as a favorite recipe all over the world. Chilli is so popular as a meal that there are even online slots games based on it. If you don’t believe us, check out any leading online slots websites such as Dove Casino and look up ‘Chilli Heat’ and ‘Hot Chilli’ – not every meal turns into a casino attraction, but this taste sensation has! The problem with chili recipes, though, is that they’re a little like online slots in themselves. There are thousands of them, and you never know quite what you’re going to get from them until you’ve taken a chance on them. 

Having taste-tested this recipe ourselves, we can assure you that there’s no need to look anywhere else for a winter chili recipe. This one has been formulated specially to keep you warm during the coldest weeks of the year, and it has the added bonus of tasting great at the same time. Let’s dive right into it. Here’s what you’re going to need!

Ingredients

*One finely chopped onion

*Sliced chili according to your taste (we recommend between one and three, although if you feel you can cope with more, be our guest. There’s some evidence to suggest that chili can help you lose weight, so for us it’s the more, the merrier!)

*Three crushed garlic cloves

*One kilo of beef mince, pork mince, or a blend of both

*Three chopped tomatoes

*Two juiced limes

*One bay leaf

*One stick of cinnamon

*One cup of chopped coriander

*Half a cup of coffee

*One liter of chicken stock

*One tablespoon of vinegar

*One tablespoon of paprika

*One tablespoon of coriander seeds

*One tablespoon of olive oil

*One teaspoon of salt

*One teaspoon of black pepper

*Butter

We realize that the above might look like quite a long list of ingredients, but it all comes together very easily in the recipe. We’ll move on to that right now. 

Cooking Method

*To begin, take a heavy saucepan and put the onions in with a knob of butter and the olive oil. Cook them at a low heat with the lid on until they’re soft. While the onions are cooking, toast the paprika, coriander seeds, and the pepper together in a frying pan on medium heat. Don’t leave them standing for too long, and turn the heat down once you can clearly smell their fragrances. 

*When the spices are toasted, put them in either a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder and add in the salt. Grind them together, and then set them aside. Add the chili and the garlic to the onions in the saucepan, and allow them to cook together for two minutes. 

*Once your two minutes are up, it’s time to introduce the meat. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve chosen pork, beef, or the two mixed together – the objective here is the same. Keep cooking them until all of the meat has visibly browned, and stir the pan meticulously to ensure consistent cooking throughout the mixture. 

*As soon as you’re happy that the meat has browned, it’s time to add in the spices you ground together earlier. At the same time, introduce the tomatoes, the bay leaf, the chicken stock, the vinegar, and the half cup of coffee. Trust us on the coffee; it adds a great deal of flavor! Bring the whole mixture up to boiling point, and then drop the heat right down and allow it to simmer for one hour. Think of that hour as a minimum. If you want to get the maximum potential flavor out of this meal, the longer you can leave it cooking, the better. This would be a great time to call on the services of your slow cooker if you own one – let the whole pot continue to cook overnight or throughout the day, and come back to it when you’re ready to eat it. 

*Whether it’s been an hour or a day, the final step is to turn the heat back up again one final time so the sauce reduces. You’re looking for a thick consistency to the whole mixture here. The last thing you need is a thin chili that oozes over the side of your plate as you’re attempting to eat it. If it’s still running, you haven’t reduced it enough, so keep on going until it’s on the verge of turning into a paste. 

*As soon as you’ve achieved the desired consistency, it’s time to season and serve. Squeeze the limes into the mix and add the chopped coriander, and consider adding more salt or pepper to suit your own tastes. As always, taste before you serve – it’s the mark of any good chef! 

*When it comes to serving, follow your own heart. If it was down to us, we’d go for a combination of cauliflower rice and spring greens with a pinch of salsa, but everyone has their own tastes. The main event of this recipe is the chili – the garnish is just there to give it a little more kick!

We sincerely hope that this recipe brings you as much joy as it’s brought to us on cold winter nights, and we’ll be back to bring you more seasonal favorites as the year progresses. Thanks for reading!