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Chile con carne by Jamie Oliver.David Loftus

There's something incredibly satisfying, honest and natural about cooking a good meal over fire that you just can't achieve any other way. When you think about it, we've only been cooking with gas and electricity for a tiny length of time, but people have been cooking with fire for thousands of years. The smoky, earthy flavours that this method gives to food are a forgotten but wonderful seasoning. Even in winter, building a good campfire out in the wild after an outdoor ramble – or sticking an old pot on top of a fire in your back garden and cooking delicious food with your mates and a few beers – is one of the best things you can do.

At this time of year, a nice, slow-cooked chili con carne always goes down a storm. It's hearty, warming (especially if you pep it up with extra fresh chili) and can easily feed a lot of people. I wanted to make sure this one this had real attitude, so we're achieving brilliant depth of flavour by mixing dried chilies with fresh ones and adding fresh herbs. Serve it with whatever you fancy – spooned over steaming baked potatoes that have been slowly cooking in the fire is incredible, but charred flatbreads work well, too. When cooking outdoors, especially if you're out in the countryside, it's a good idea to do any chopping and veg prep before you leave, then store everything in sealable bags (keeping them separate, if necessary) to chuck straight into the pan when you're ready to cook. Served with popped kidney beans on the side to mix it up, as well as a lovely dollop of cooling sour cream, this will be a welcome, hot meal on any cold day.

Servings: 10

Ingredients

2 dried chilies, such as chipotle

2 large red onions

4 garlic cloves

1 big bunch fresh coriander

3 fresh red chilies

Olive oil

2 carrots

1½ tablespoons sweet smoked paprika

1 stick of cinnamon

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 pound (500 grams) pasture-raised minced beef

1 pound (500 grams) pasture-raised minced pork

4 369-ml tins of plum tomatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

3 bell peppers (a mix of colours)

2 400-gram tins of kidney beans

Sour cream

Method

In a bowl, cover the dried chilies with boiling water and leave to rehydrate.

Peel and finely chop the onions and garlic, pick the coriander leaves, then finely chop the stalks. Deseed and finely slice the fresh chilies.

Put a large, dry, sturdy saucepan over a medium heat and, once hot, add 1 tablespoon of oil, followed by the onions, garlic, coriander stalks and most of the fresh chili. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the onion is soft but not coloured.

Peel and finely chop the carrots, and stir them into the pan with the paprika, cinnamon stick and half the cumin seeds. Fry for 5 minutes.

Drain the rehydrated chilies, reserving the water, and finely slice. Stir them into the pan, along with all the meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook for 5 minutes, or until all the liquid has evaporated and the meat has browned.

Add the reserved soaking water and canned tomatoes, breaking them up with the wooden spoon. Season well with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and leave for 1 to 2 hours, or until thickened.

Meanwhile, char the peppers by carefully holding them with tongs over a flame and turning until blackened all over (if you’re cooking indoors, use a gas flame or a screaming-hot griddle pan).

Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave to steam.

Once cool enough to handle, peel the skin off the peppers, deseed, cut into strips and add to the chili.

With about 5 minutes to go, put a large, dry pan over a medium heat and, once hot, toast the remaining cumin seeds for a couple of minutes.

When they smell fantastic, add a good drizzle of oil, then drain and add the beans. Fry and toss until crisp and starting to pop. Season well, then tip into a serving bowl, scatter over the coriander leaves and mix together.

Season the chili to taste, remove the cinnamon stick, then scatter over the reserved fresh chili. Serve with the popped beans, sour cream, and whatever else you fancy.

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