Instead of chucking a whole lot of stuff in with the beef when making chilli for nachos, I prefer to have lots of accompaniments so you can choose with each bite what you want. Pictured above are corn chips with chilli beef, avocado (dressed with lemon and fresh coriander), confit of capsicum, pickled red and green jalapeno pepper and pickled carrot, oh and a bit of a sprinkle of cheese straight on the chilli beef.
Confit of capsicum
Blister and char a capsicum, you can do this either under a grill or over an open flame.
Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, leave for about 5 minutes and scrape of the charred skin.
Slice in to strips, arrange in a baking dish with some garlic, crushed coriander seeds and a bay leaf, pour in enough oil to cover and cook at 130ºC for about 40 minutes.
Quick pickled carrot
Either by hand or with a handy mandoline julienne a carrot.
I find a zip lock bag is best for a quick pickled as you can massage the ingredients together. Combine the carrot, thin slices of onion, grated garlic, vinegar, sugar and salt. Massage together and set aside.
Chili beef
I'm sure everyone has their own version of chilli so I wont bore you with a long recipe.
Very finely dice an onion and soften in a pan, add coriander, cumin, chilli, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until fragrant, try not to colour the onion too much. Deglaze the pan with a little vinegar. Add minced beef and cook until brown, tip off any excess fat if you wish. Squirt in a bit of tomato paste and cook down. Pour in enough passata (or tomato purée) to cover and simmer until thick. Stir in some chopped coriander and parsley. Adjust seasoning.
Keep an eye out for La Morena products at your local shop, they're very good.
