Don't be chilly - warm up with a chili

Texas chili with country cornbread

This recipe makes a rich, luscious sauce, perfect over rice, jacket potatoes or for mopping up a slice of country cornbread.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 2 hours
Serves: 6

1kg stewing beef, cut into 2cm cubes
6 tbsp flour
salt and black pepper
2 tsp cayenne
3-4 tbsp corn oil
2 tbsp cumin seeds
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
250ml beer
750ml beef stock (you can use a good quality cube or 2 cans of Campbell's beef consomme topped up with enough water to make 750ml)
2 tbsp tomato purée
5 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp honey
1 dried ancho chilli (about 10g)
1-2 tbsp sliced pickled jalepeno chillies (optional), available in jars in the Mexican section of supermarkets

For the cornbread
100ml corn oil
150g cornmeal or polenta
50g plain flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
284ml (one tub) buttermilk
100ml milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 small can sweetcorn (about 150g) drained, or 150g frozen sweetcorn, thawed

To make the chili, place the flour, salt, pepper and cayenne in a shallow bowl and toss the beef cubes until coated. Pour enough hot water over the dried ancho chilli and leave to soften while you brown the beef. Heat the oil over a medium heat in a large, heavy saucepan or casserole and fry the beef in batches, taking care not to crowd them until well browned on all sides. Transfer the batches to a bowl. While the meat is browning, heat a small frying pan and dry fry the cumin seeds until they become aromatic and just beginning to colour. Crush in a pestle and mortar and set aside.

Add a little more oil and fry the onion until soft and beginning to colour, for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and fry another minute. Pour in the beer, bring to a boil and scrape any cooked bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the stock, tomato purée, oregano, honey and crushed cumin seeds. Remove the softened chilli from the water, cut off the stem and chop the flesh. Add it to the chili, seeds and all, along with the jalepeno, if using.

Bring the chili to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Alternatively, you can cook it in a slow oven at 150C for the same amount of time, or until the meat is tender.

To make the cornbread, preheat the oven to 230C. Pour 1 tablespoon of the oil into a 23-25cm / 9-10 inch cake or similar size roasting tin and place in the oven until piping hot.

Place the cornmeal or polenta in a bowl and sift in the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder. Add the buttermilk, milk, egg and rest of the oil and mix quickly until loosely combined. Fold in the sweet corn and pour into the hot tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden on top. Allow to cool in the tin and serve with the chili.