Nigella Lawson - Quick Chili

Thursday, 03 Jan 2008

QUICK CHILI

I suppose this is more Tex-Mex than just Mex, but none the worse for that. Besides, there is a reason that old-fashioned cookbooks devoted so much energy to ground meat: It makes for simple, speedy supper.
Luckily, there is a lot more going for this than efficiency. It just hits the spot when you want something comforting but not bland: It soothes but its sprightly.
If you've got a rice cooker - and I make no secret of my dependence here - then you put your rice on to steam before you make the chili and a substantial supper is mere minutes away, which is just the way a substantial supper should be.

INGREDIENTS:

* 5 oz chorizo sausage (not the hard salami sort of sausage), halved lengthwise and cut into ¼ - inch half-moons
* 1 lb ground beef
* ½ teaspoon ground cumin
* ½ teaspoon ground coriander
* ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 3 cardamom pods, bruised
* 2 cups good-quality tomato and chunky vegetable sauce for pasta
* 1 14-oz can mixed spicy beans
* ¼ cup sweet chile sauce
* ¼ teaspoon chile flakes, optional, or if your canned beans are not spicy
* Put the sliced chorizo into a hot pan and cook over medium heat until the sausage crisps a little and gives up its orange-red oil.


PREPARATION:

* Add the ground beef and cook for about 5 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden fork to help it brown.
* Stir in the spices and then ad the tomato-vegetable pasta sauce, beans, and chile sauce. Also add the chile flakes if you need more heat.
* Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes and eat with rice or just as it is. If you're not adding any rice, you might consider dolloping with a blob of sour cream and sprinkling some grated cheese and chopped cilantro. I cant think of any way of eating this that isn't good.

Serves 4