Smoky Chipotle Chili

Recipe by Royal Pepper (image credit: Saffron & Thyme)Course: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: SouthwesternDifficulty: Medium
Servings

6+

servings
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

1

hour 
Total time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Who doesn’t love a good bowl of chili?

A nice big batch of beef chili definitely keeps our bellies happy. A few generous spoonfuls of the The Count gives it nice and balanced heat. It also helps round out flavours by imparting the most incredible smoky chipotle and jalapeño notes.

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs lean ground beef

  • 2 large onions

  • 2 medium sized jalapeño peppers

  • 2 medium sized tomatoes

  • 2 large cans red kidney beans

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 1⁄2 pound mushrooms – optional

  • 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • 2 bottles tomato passata

  • 1 can chipotle in adobo

  • 3-5 tablespoons of The Count Hot Sauce

  • Chilli spice blend
  • 3 tablespoons sweet paprika

  • 3 tablespoons cumin powder

  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder

  • 1 tablespoon salt

Directions

  • Chop onions, tomatoes and mushrooms coarsely, put aside.
  • Mince garlic finely
  • In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil on high and sauté garlic for 1 minute
  • Add onions, sauté for about 2 minutes
  • Add the ground beef, brown the meat until it begins to brown – cook until very
    little pink is left. While browning the meat, preheat the oven to 375F.
  • Add the meat to a large Dutch oven
  • Add the tomatoes, beans, mushrooms, frozen vegetables, jalapeños,
    chipotles, spices, The Count hot sauce and pour pasatta. Add water to top up.
  • Cover the lid and place in the oven for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes.

Notes

  • You can substitute frozen corn kernels or any other kind of vegetables.
  • If you cannot find chipotle in adobo, you can make a quick substitution:
    In a small saucepan, add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 4 tablespoons white vinegar, 1 tablespoon liquid smoke and 5 dried red chillies. Bring to a boil, and add to chilli in Dutch oven.
  • To enhance the chilli spices, heat them in a small frying pan on high temperature. Stirring and mixing until just before smoking point, then add to Dutch oven.