In Search of Perfection... Heston's (Healthy) Chilli

A few months ago my husband made Heston Blumenthal's chilli from his 'In Search of Perfection' series. I have to say that he wasn't wrong. As you would expect, Heston concocted one mind blowing dish packed full of flavour. We made it again on New Year's Eve, but this time teamed it up with my jalapeno cornbread bundt. The combination was so good it got promoted into the 'what could you just eat?' part of my memory bank.

I could eat it every day of my life, but I am sure it would kill me. The original recipe uses up to 250g of butter. You heard. This weekend we set about making a healthier version that we would still enjoy without the fear of a heart attack. Some of the naughties have stayed to ensure it has the same depth of flavour, but unnecessary fats have gone.

This dish divides into six large portions, but I'm sure most mere mortals could divide this into seven or perhaps even eight servings, bringing the calorie amount down even further. Allow a good three hours to make this to ensure the flavours can develop slowly. This is also much quicker to make than the original, which takes about six hours...

Ingredients

Spice Paste

• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp Tomato Ketchup
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp Marmite
• 2 tbsp hot Peri Peri sauce

Chilli

• 900g lean minced beef
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 shallots - diced
• 3 star anise
• 1 large carrot - diced
• 3 cloves garlic - finely chopped
• 2 green chillies - deseeded and diced
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 750ml red wine (yes, that's a whole bottle...)
• 4 medium tomatoes - roughly chopped
• 2 x 400g tin kidney beans
• 2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 500ml beef stock
• 3 red peppers - deseeded and chopped
• Seasoning
• Zest of 2 limes
• Juice of 1 lime

Method

1. In a small bowl or ramekin, mix together the ingredients marked 'spice paste' above. Put to one side.
2. Heat a large, wide bottomed pan or casserole to 'inferno' level and then brown off the mince.
3. Once it is browned, drain into a large bowl and set aside. Disgard the fatty water...
4. Deglaze your pan with a little water then tip that into the mince.
5. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in the pan, then add the diced shallots and star anise. Cook until soft and browning slightly - about 10 minutes.
6. Add the diced carrot, garlic and chilli. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the carrot softens.
7. Add the tomato purée and cook for another 5 minutes.
8. Pour in the wine and reduce by two thirds. When it's ready it will look thicker in texture than before. 
9. Remove the star anise (you don't want to bite into one of those blighters...) 
10. Stir in the spice paste from earlier, the mince, tomatoes, tinned tomatoes, kidney beans, stock and peppers, then leave to simmer gently with no lid for two hours. There should be no pools of liquid and it should look visibly thick. If it's not, give it a bit longer.
11. At the end add the seasoning (to taste), the zest and the juice.

All done! Kick back and enjoy a guilt free version of perfection...

Nutritional Information

Per Serving	(based on six)
Calories	469
Carbs	41
Fat	10
Protein	37

Please leave your comments below... x

Join my blog friends: Join Dolly
Subscribe: Newsfeed
Join me on Facebook
Tweet me @dollybakes
Have a nosy at my pics on Pinterest

Nutritional information worked out using MyFitnessPal.

Saintly Corned Beef Hash

Who said low calorie meals have to be boring? If food is dull I don't feel satisfied and I'm then likely to go and pick on something else. Cue a massive piece of cake...

I love corned beef hash. It's a winter staple and childhood favourite, which I also find cures many ailments, including:

• Crap-day-itis
• Mardy-bum syndrome
• The affliction known as 'I just can't get warm!'

No northern home is complete without its very own 'hash' recipe. It appears as tater hash, tatty hash and  corned beef hot pot, amongst others. Look a little further afield and similar recipes utilising cheap ingredients can be found in most regions. The North East have Panaculty and Merseyside the aptly named Scouse. Wherever you live, I'm sure that you had your own version at home when you were growing up, which may or may not have looked a little something like this.

My grandma makes hers with carrots, turnips and boiled potatoes cut into chunks. I have also had it with creamed potatoes mixed in. Some recipes don't reduce down the liquid, so they are much sloppier than mine. It's all personal preference.

My version is much lighter but makes the most of flavour. I add a little red wine (definitely not used back in the day...) and use mini new potatoes which I roast in the oven for the best texture and flavour.

Word on the street (the street being food magazines) is that corned beef is the next big thing for 2013, so hopefully we will be seeing much more of this south American export!

Ingredients

• 500g of baby new potatoes
• 10 sprays of light oil (I use Fry Light)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 small shallots (about 150g)
• 1 beef stock cube
• 600 ml hot water
• 150ml red wine
• A good glug of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tins of Lean Corned Beef (400g in total) - trimmed of fat and cubed
• 150g fresh garden peas
• Sea salt and pepper for seasoning

Method

1. Preheat your oven to Gas 7/220 C.
2. Tip your baby new potatoes into a small roasting dish and spray with the light oil. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and plenty of black pepper. Give the whole thing a shake and pop in the middle of the oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown, and soft under a knife. Turn them half way.
3. Tip: If you could only get bigger new potatoes, cut them diagonally for maximum crispiness. 
4. Meanwhile... dice your shallots and heat the olive oil in a large casserole.
5. Add the shallots and soften. If the pan is a little dry, add a splash of water.
6. Add the beef stock cube, the hot water and the red wine. Stir well and simmer on a medium heat until the liquid has reduced by about half. 
7. Add the Worcestershire sauce and lots of black pepper. It doesn't need any more salt.
8. Tip in the corned beef and flatten with your spoon or spatula and warm through on a low to medium heat for about 10 minutes whilst you wait for your potatoes. Taste it to make sure your seasoning is right. 
9. Add the peas a couple of minutes before your potatoes are due out.
10. When the potatoes are done, slice any larger ones into bite sized pieces and mix them into the corned beef mixture. 
11. Warm the whole thing though a little then dish up!  

Serve with pickles and brown sauce...

Nutritional Information

Per Serving
Calories	380
Carbs	32
Fat	13
Sat Fat	4
Protein	31

Please leave your comments below... x

Join my blog friends: Join Dolly
Subscribe: Newsfeed
Join me on Facebook
Tweet me @dollybakes
Have a nosy at my pics on Pinterest