Mimsy Were the Borogoves

Food: Recipes, cookbook reviews, food notes, and restaurant reviews. Unless otherwise noted, I have personally tried each recipe that gets its own page, but not necessarily recipes listed as part of a cookbook review.

Quick bean and ground beef chili

Jerry Stratton, May 13, 2007

This makes a great chili, a great dip for tortillas, and a great lunch for freezing. And it’s a very fast recipe.

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Servings: 5
Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 tblsp olive oil
  • 1.5 pounds tomatoes
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 3 green chilis, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 15 oz cans red kidney beans
  • 2 tblsp cumin, ground
  • 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/4 tsp caraway seeds
  • 3 tblsp oregano
  • 1 tsp cayenne powder
  • 2 tsp dried tarragon leaves
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 2 tsp coarse sea salt

Steps

  1. Puree the tomatoes in a blender or food processor
  2. Brown the beef in the olive oil for 2-3 minutes.
  3. Add 1 tblsp ground cumin, the cumin and caraway seeds, and the chopped onion.
  4. Stir-fry for two minutes.
  5. Add the tomatoes, chilis, garlic, beans, and the rest of the spices.
  6. Bring to a simmer.
  7. Simmer uncovered for about fifteen minutes.

This chili is the opposite of my Heathen Chili: made with lots of meat and it only takes half an hour to cook instead of all day.

If you don’t use lean ground beef, you may want to drain (some of) the fat before adding the vegetables and spices. If you use a drier tomato, such as Roma tomatoes, you may want to simmer covered to retain the juices.

If you don’t like it hot, seed all or some of the chilis.

It’s very good with grated cheese and tortilla chips over the top.

  1. <- Balti Beef
  2. Eggplant Stew ->