A warm, comforting chilli is the ultimate family meal. This dish is great for all seasons and has a mix of sweet (cascabel) and smoky (ancho) chillis to give it depth
Ingredients
- 80ml olive oil
- 2 large onions, roughly chopped
- 2 large dried ancho chillies (buy from Waitrose or ocado.com)
- 3 dried cascabel chillies (buy from Waitrose or ocado.com)
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 3 celery sticks, finely chopped
- 1 beef stock cube
- 1.5kg beef shin, boneless and cut into large chunks
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 3 carrots, trimmed, left whole
- 50ml maple syrup
- 1can chopped tomatoes
- 500ml bottle dark beer
- 500ml fresh beef stock
- fresh coriander sprigs, to serve
Method
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Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/ gas 3. Heat a large cast-iron pot or saucepan over a high flame, pour in the oil, then drop in the onions, chillies, paprika and thyme. Cook for 5 mins until the onions soften. Add the celery, give it a stir and crumble in the stock cube. Stir again and cook for another 5 mins
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Add the beef, stir well, then colour for a few mins to coat the meat with the spices. Add the flour and coat everything with a more few stirs, then add the remaining ingredients, along with 1 tsp salt.
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Let it come to the boil, then put a lid on, place in the oven, reduce the temperature to 140C/120C fan/ gas 1 and cook for 4 1 /2 hrs.
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Take the pot out of the oven and remove the carrots, chop them into small chunks, then put them back in. I like plenty of sauce, but you may want to remove some if you don’t want it too saucy – be sure to keep it, it’s great on toast when cold. Remember to remove the chillies before you serve. Finally, scatter with coriander, if you like