Winter-warmer chili con carne

I have a confession to make. This morning when I woke up it was cold and grey, and quite frankly, I wasn't feeling great. So I took a personal day. This doesn't happen often but sometimes it is necessary. Weekends are busy and the week is manic. Sometimes it is not so much that one is incapacitated but the day can be used to get all those things we neglect and put off because you can't do them in the week if you are working from 8:30 until 6:30 pm, done. Other times it is merely to take much-needed time for one's self.

My sister and I have a joke that the first is called a personal hygiene day, you know: get your hair cut, your nails done, that kind of thing that you would otherwise wait three months of weekends before the beauty therapist can fit you in for. The aforementioned, we call a sanity day. Which can be spent in a very similar way but is dedicated to soothing the soul so that the next day you can greet your colleagues with a smile and a wave and do your job without the accompanying feeling of a breakdown - aren't all of our jobs stressful?

It would come as no surprise then, that on my day off I like to cook. (There was a lingering coffee at a cafeteria while reading the paper, much reading- some of it to expand my knowledge that would assist in my job - so I'm really helping the company, am I not by taking this well-timed day off - and then there was plenty of napping, helping me to catch up on that much-needed and restorative sleep.)



So it being that kind of day, there is nothing nicer to make than something heartwarming and body warming: a nice pot of chili. I started early in the morning and let the chili sit the whole day which allows the flavours to develop. It is even better if you decide to make this a night or two before and let it sit in the fridge. Flavour-wise there is nothing to beat sitting time for those notes of deliciousness to infuse. If you are vegetarian, simply increase the amount of red kidney beans. Also, this is not a traditional-traditional chili, I like to add the odd bit of veg: pour quoi non? But the important thing is that the spicing is correct for chili ( which will distinguish it from a curry (Thai / madras / North Indian or otherwise).

A note on the beans. If you are using dried beans, let them sit one or two nights in water which will soften them and then bring them to the boil on the stove. Then let them simmer for about an hour and a half.

So without further ado, except to mention that this is best made with love and best intentions, here is my recipe:

Ingredients
300g lean beef mince
1 1/2 cups red kidney beans or a tin of red kidney beans
1 onion ( medium sized and chopped into small cubes)
1 large clove of garlic (crushed)
1 medium sized red chili (dried and crushed)
1 tsp of coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp dried oregano
2 fresh chopped tomatoes
1 can tomato puree
2 grated zucchini or a grated carrot
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1tspn ground coriander
salt and pepper to taste

To serve:
Fresh lettuce
brown rice / taco / tortilla
sour cream or plain yogurt
fresh corriander
fresh tomato and onion salsa
a pinch of grated cheddar, if you're really feeling indulgent

To make:
Lightly sweat the onions and the garlic along with the coriander and cumin seeds, the chili and oregano. Do not let this burn. Then add the tomatoes. Add the mince and the beans and turn up the heat and allow the mince to brown.

Add the veg, if you wish, and then add the can of tomato puree along with the remaining spices.

Mix well and lower the heat and allow to simmer for an hour or two.

Serve with brown rice or in a taco. Add freshly chopped iceburg lettuce, a dollop of sour cream (or plain yogurt) some fresh coriander and tomato salsa.  For the salsa  use a chopped fresh tomato that has been salt-and peppered, mixed with a finely cut shallot or half an onion and had a little vinegar added to it.

Mango, Litchi and Coriander Salad with Chilli and Lime Dressing.

As promised, here is the salad. While there is a lot of sweetness in the salad from the fruit this is well balanced out by the saltiness of the cheese and the sourness of the lime. The coriander leaves (also known as Cilantro in the States, and in Indian cooking as Dhania) adds the greens but also it's own flavour to the salad. The chili adds a spicy tang which balances the dish. This salad would go well with grilled lamb chops, and some simply boiled potatoes tossed in olive oil. You could also substitute the potatoes with Naan bread.


Just one last note before I get to the recipe, and that is that I think that this dish displays the most important part of any dish and that is balance. I cannot emphasise enough how important the following elements are and how balance holds the ultimate key to a good meal: Variety is, after all the spice of life!

As I pointed out above the tastes compliment and balance each other out, even though each of the ingredients have distinct individual flavours, they compliment each other and fuse to become something new. Similarly there is a balance of colours and textures. The bright orange colour of the mango, the green of the coriander and the white of the cheese and the translucence of the litchi, be-speckled with red chili all serve up a visual feast. Lastly texture is balanced out with the succulence of the mango and litchi is set off against the creaminess of the cheese and the crunchiness of the coriander and the chili.

Salad:
One large mango
Eight litchis (peeled and pips removed)
A small bunch of coriander leaves (about a cup when roughly chopped)
80grams of feta cheese (or ricotta)

Dressing:
One lime
One small-deseeded red chili
A piece of ginger, about 2cm thick
30-40mm olive oil (extra virgin if you have)


Peel the mango and cut around the large pip. Then cut the mango into thin (about half a cm thick) strips. Shred the litchis. Place the chopped coriander on a platter. Arrange the mango strips on top. Place the shredded litchi in between the mango and then crumble the cheese on top of that. Season with salt and black pepper (but hold off on the salt if you are using a salty feta)


For the dressing, grate the zest of the lime into a container and then juice the lime on top of that. Finely chop the chili and grate in the ginger. Add the olive oil (it should be about a third of the dressing, so add accordingly), mix and pour evenly over the salad.

If you like you could also add boiled prawns to the salad, at the stage before you dress it. Serve with a garlic naan.

If you have this salad with just the garlic naan I would recommend a Chenin Blanc or with it as a meal or a light Sauvignon Blanc that has citrus overtones in it.

The same Sauvignon with or a Rosé if you make it with the prawns I’d probably opt for a dry Pinotage Rosé, Delheim makes and excellent one.

If you have it accompanying your lamb chops I’d leave it up to you to have a red or a rosé of your choice. But in the red category I’d probably go for a Merlot as that is lightly oaked or a dry red blend.

I don’t think that there is a single wine that you can have with this, for one different wine estates bring out different flavours in their varieties and then two different types of wine can be equally enjoyable but produce a totally different taste experience.

Bon Appétit