MEXICAN CHILLI RECIPES RECIPES

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.

1. Cover the dried chillies with boiling water and leave to rehydrate.
2. Peel and finely chop the onions and garlic, pick the coriander leaves, then finely chop the stalks. Deseed and finely slice the fresh chillies.
3. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil into a large pan over a medium heat, add the onions, garlic, coriander stalks and most of the fresh chilli, then cook for 10 minutes, or until the onion is soft but not coloured.
4. Peel and finely chop the carrots, add to the pan with the paprika, cinnamon and half the cumin seeds, and fry for a further 5 minutes.
5. Reserving the soaking water, drain the rehydrated chillies, then finely chop and stir into the pan. Add the mince, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, then cook for 5 minutes, or until all the liquid has evaporated and the meat has browned.
6. Add the reserved soaking water followed by the tomatoes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon. Season with sea salt and black pepper, then bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and leave to tick away for 1 to 2 hours, or until thickened.
7. Meanwhile, char the peppers by carefully holding them with tongs over a flame or placing under the grill, turning regularly until blackened all over. Place in a bowl, cover and leave to steam for 5 to 10 minutes.
8. Discard the blackened skin and seeds from the charred peppers, then slice into strips and add to the chilli.
9. With 5 minutes to go, toast the cumin seeds in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat for 2 minutes. Add a good drizzle of oil, drain and add the beans, then fry until crisp and starting to pop, tossing regularly. Season to taste, then tip into a serving bowl.
10. Season the chilli to taste, remove the cinnamon stick, then scatter over the reserved fresh chilli, coriander leaves and popped beans. Delicious served with a dollop of yoghurt or soured cream.

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.