Hot hot hot Chilli con Carne

A firm favourite in our house and the hotter the better!  If I am organised I try to make it in advance and leave in the fridge overnight to mature.  That doesn't happen often...... so I make a double batch and freeze.  I like to buy my mince from either Hopley's Farm Shop, Bewdley Butchers or Hodge Hill Farm Shop as their meat tastes so much better than supermarket meat. My cast iron slow cooker is the star of the show from Netherton Foundry.
When it comes to chillies I love the Scotch Bonnet for the lovely fruity flavour but it is an acquired taste.  If I am cooking it for family or friends who prefer less heat I use jalopeno chillies but still leave the seeds in.

Ingredients
500g of the best quality minced beef you can find
Sunflower oil
2 small onions finely chopped
3 squished cloves of garlic
A generous teaspoon of cumin seeds (lightly toasted and ground if I have time)
1/2 a cinnamon stick
Fresh chilli - I use three jalopeno chillies quartered with the seeds included.
Spare chillies if it needs to be hotter
1 beef stock pot
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tin of kidney beans - rinsed and drained
Tomato puree - a good squeeze
A couple of inches of Unami paste (optional)
Bay leaf
Salt and pepper

Method
Add a couple of tbsp of oil to a large skillet and heat
Add the finely chopped onions and garlic and cook until softened
Add the cumin seeds and chillies stir and cook for another 5 minutes on a gentle heat
Once the onions start to take on a little colour whack up the heat and then add the mince
Cook until browned stirring only occasionally
Then add the tomatoes, tomato puree, bay leaf and stock pot adding extra water/tomatoes depending on how much sauce you like
Finally add the rinsed kidney beans, stir, cover and then cook on a low heat for as long as you can. Season to taste.
 In the slow cooker I leave it on low for 4 hours or a couple of hours in the oven on 130C.

I serve with boiled basmati rice.  Sides of guacamole, salad, sour cream and relish are added as a bonus if doing this at the weekend.  Have a cool lager ready to put out the flames!

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