GARLIC CHILLI RECIPES

1. Ask your butcher to trim and slice your brisket for you. If you’re doing it yourself, carefully trim the meat by discarding any fat or silver skin. Cut the meat against, rather than with, the grain into 2.5cm thick pieces.
2. Make the coffee and, while it’s hot, soak the dried chillies in it for a few minutes to let them rehydrate.
3. Meanwhile, peel and dice the onions and peel and finely slice the garlic.
4. Heat a few lugs of oil in your largest casserole pan on a low heat, add the cumin, paprika, oregano, bay and onions. Fry for 10 minutes, until the onions have softened.
5. Deseed and chop half the fresh chillies. Slice up the rehydrated chillies and add them to the onion mixture along with the chopped fresh chilli, the cinnamon sticks, sliced garlic, a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper and a splash of the chilli-infused coffee.
6. Stir, then add the rest of the coffee, the tomatoes, breaking them up with the back of a spoon, and the molasses or sugar. Add the pieces of brisket and another good pinch of salt and pepper, cover with a lid and simmer for around 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
7. After a few hours use 2 forks or a potato masher to break the meat up and pull it apart.
8. Once you’ve done this, deseed, slice and add the peppers, then drain and add the beans. Leave to simmer with the lid off for 30 minutes, or until the meat is completely falling apart and delicious, stirring occasionally.
9. Have a taste and season well – if you require a bit more heat (like I would), this is the time to deseed and chop the rest of the fresh chilli and stir it in.
10. Dollop a big spoonful of soured cream over the chilli (if using), and serve straight from the pan, with fluffy rice, flatbreads or potatoes and a really nice fresh lemony green salad. Don’t forget multiple cold beers! Enjoy.

1. Preheat a griddle pan to high.
2. Peel the onions, scrub the sweet potatoes and deseed the peppers. Cut off a small chunk of each and put aside with one tomato (this is for the salsa later). Roughly chop the rest of the veg into 4cm chunks and halve the remaining tomatoes, then chargrill, working in batches.
3. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil into a large casserole pan over a medium-low heat and stir in the cumin and paprika.
4. Peel, roughly chop and add the garlic, finely grate in the lemon zest, and add the grilled veg bit by bit as they’re ready, stirring regularly.
5. Tip in the beans (juices and all), and 1½ tins’ worth of water, then add around 1 tablespoon of chilli sauce (or to your liking). Season with sea salt and black pepper and simmer for 30 minutes, or until thickened and reduced.
6. Meanwhile, cook the rice in a pan of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions.
7. Pick 2 sprigs of mint leaves and very finely chop with the salsa veg, then toss with the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Warm the tortillas on the griddle and ripple a good few shakes of chilli sauce through the yoghurt. Serve the chilli with the black rice, salsa, yoghurt and tortillas, and pick over the mint leaves. Enjoy!

Mist a large pan with spray oil and brown the meat all over (you may need to do this in two batches). Transfer the browned meat to the slow cooker, then add the onion to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, until browned and softened. Add the garlic with the chilli flakes, cumin and paprika and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.

Add this to the slow cooker with the chopped tomatoes, ale, beef stock, kidney beans, peppers, dried mixed herbs, bay leaf and tomato puree. Put the slow cooker on a low setting for 7-8 hours covered with the lid until the beef is completely tender. 

Towards the end of cooking, preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Cut the tortillas in half then cut each of these halves into 8 triangles. Spread these over a large baking sheet and sprinkle over smoked paprika. Bake for 8-10 minutes until crisp, then leave to cool.

Once the beef has finished cooking, place a colander over a wide saucepan and transfer the chilli to this, allowing all the liquid to fall in to the saucepan. Place the meat and vegetables in the colander over a bowl to catch any further liquid. 

Place the saucepan with the liquid over a high heat and reduce for 10 minutes so that it goes down by roughly half. Add the meat back into the pan and warm through, then divide between 4 bowls. Divide the tortillas and add the sliced jalapeños, chopped coriander and soured cream to serve.

1. Trim, halve and deseed the red chillies (use rubber gloves to protect your hands, if you like), and peel the garlic cloves, then place in a food processor with the peppers and pulse until finely chopped.
2. Scrape the chilli mixture into a high-sided pan over a medium-high heat, add the sugar and vinegar, then give everything a good stir.
3. Prick the Scotch bonnets with a sharp knife and add to the pan with 1 teaspoon of sea salt. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer gently for 20 to 25 minutes, or until thick, glossy and reduced by half.
4. Pour into sterilised jam jars (leave the Scotch bonnets in, if you like it hot, otherwise remove) and store in a cool dark place until needed.

1. Peel and slice the onions, peel and finely chop the garlic, and pick the coriander leaves and finely chop the stalks. Slice the chicken into 1cm strips.
2. Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat and, when hot, sauté the onions, garlic, coriander stalks, spices, and whole and flaked chilli for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft but not coloured.
3. Add the chicken strips and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the tinned tomatoes. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the chicken breaks apart when pressed with the back of a spoon. Add a splash of water if it looks too dry at any stage.
4. Next, make the salsa. Blister the pepper and chilli skins by placing them under a hot grill or holding them with tongs over a gas flame. Once blackened all over, place in a bowl, cover with clingfilm and set aside to cool.
5. Roughly chop the tomatoes, put them in a colander with a pinch of sea salt and place it in the sink for 15 minutes to allow the salt to draw out some of the tomatoes’ water, then give the colander a good shake.
6. Peel the skins from the pepper and chilli and discard along with the seeds, then place them on a board with the spring onions and chop.
7. Add the tomatoes and pick over the coriander leaves and continue chopping until you have a fine salsa. Transfer to a bowl, and season with black pepper and a good squeeze of lime juice.
8. Shred the chicken using two forks, then drain and stir the black beans into the chilli. Continue cooking for a couple of minutes until the beans are heated through, then remove from the heat and stir in the coriander leaves.
9. Chop the lettuce, then serve the chilli in the tortillas with the lettuce, a good spoonful of salsa and a drizzle of yoghurt, with lime wedges on the side.