We are now into December and the Christmas preparations begin, I hate that Christmas is now so commercial and that the shops are selling Christmas earlier and earlier every year. The advantage that we, as a family, now have is that the Children are all grown up, aged from 25 down to 12, even Luca enjoys Christmas as a family event rather than a commercial excuse to receive a pile of present under the tree.
Preparations for us are thinking about getting together as a family, what to eat and what events to attend and share together, plus there is always the fun of choosing the Christmas tree, always a jovial battle between myself and Hubby, and long country walks with the dog collecting greenery for the mantlepiece, stairs and anywhere we can arrange it and make the house look festive.
December calls for not only traditional Christmas food, but warming hearty grub. At the weekend, Hubby and I ate in a gorgeous traditional pub in Sussex, after attending the Christmas Brocante at Cowdary Hall, I had pheasant, ham hock and leek suet pudding and it was to die for, I haven’t enjoyed a meal that much in a very long time and it inspired me to give this Paul Hollywood recipe a try.
Hubby will not touch suet, but this recipe gives the traditional chilli con carne a bit of a twist with a gorgeous cornbread topping. It does take a while to cook, but you just leave it to get on with it whilst you do other more interesting things, for me at the moment that is sewing and I am currently making these…
The result is a beautifully cooked meat filling, the beef is rich, moist and full of flavour, one chilli provides enough punch for a family dish, but you could always add more if you would prefer it hotter and the cornbread topping is just heavenly, a bit like a cobbler topping but with more flavour.
So if you are like me, thinking a head to meals over the coming festive weeks, looking for something warming and hearty, with a twist, try this, it really is lovely and if you don’t fancy the cornbread, just serve with rice.
Buon appetito
For the Chilli Beef
2 tbsp sunflower oil
500g/1lb 2oz shin of beef, trimmed and cut into 1cm/½in cubes
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 x 400g/14oz tin chopped tomatoes
200ml/7fl oz rich beef stock
salt and black pepper
1 x 400g/14oz tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3 large roasted red peppers from a jar, deseeded and roughly chopped
For the cornbread topping
125g/4½oz plain flour
125g/4½oz cornmeal
½ tsp salt
115g/4oz unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 free-range eggs, beaten
250ml/8fl oz buttermilk
1 green chilli, deseeded and very finely chopped
½ tsp baking powder
120g/4¼oz strong Cheddar cheese, grated
To make the filling (which you can do ahead of time), first heat your oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a flameproof casserole over a high heat. Add half the beef and brown it well.
Remove and set aside in a dish. Add the remaining meat, and a little more oil if necessary, brown it and set aside with the rest of the beef.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add a little more oil to the pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5–8 minutes, until softened.
Add the chilli, oregano, cocoa powder and tomato purée to the onions and stir in. Return the meat to the pan, along with any juices that have seeped from it, and cook for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the tomatoes and beef stock, bring to a simmer, then cover and cook in the oven for an hour. Add the kidney beans and peppers and return to the oven for a further hour or until the meat is tender.
Check the seasoning (if it’s not hot enough for you, you can spice it up with a little chilli powder) then spoon the mixture into 4–6 deep, individual pie dishes, leaving about 2cm/¾in below the rim.
Turn the oven up to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
To make the cornbread batter, mix the flour, cornmeal and salt in a large bowl. In a jug, combine the melted butter, eggs, buttermilk, green chilli and baking powder. Add to the dry ingredients and mix just until combined – don’t overmix.
Top the chilli beef with the cornbread batter, then sprinkle cheese over each dish. Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden-brown. If you like, you can finish the pies under the grill for a few minutes to get a really nice golden-brown top.
Serve immediately, we had ours with mash potato, sweetcorn and peas. The potato was a little over the top and not really required because of the cornbread but Rosie loves it.
NOTE : The recipe suggests you will need 4–6 deep, individual pie dishes, which would be lovely, but I made one large one and it worked just as well.
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