Chili con carne, fuel for sports catering

For the last five years I have been catering for a group of amateur but serious cyclists at La Finca, Rent your own Resort in Javea. As you can imagine, this kind of catering is completely different from catering for a wedding or a birthday party.

Serious, I said. One day they rode from Javea over the Montgo to Denia, past Las Marinas to Oliva, into the mountains to Pego, and via Orba, Jalon, Benissa and Benitachell back to Javea. That day I considered myself the lucky one, as I only had to cook for the 30 of them.

Activities like this call for a diet high in carbs and proteins, so that is what they get. I served tapas and paella and did a barbecue, but one of their favourite dishes is chili con carne, which fits perfectly. How will it do for your waistline? Not much, if you have a smaller portion and only once a month.

Ingredients

• 2 medium onions
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 medium carrots
• 2 sticks of celery
• 2 red peppers
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 x 400 g tin of red kidney beans
• 2 x 400 g tins of chopped tomatoes
• 500 g quality minced beef
• fresh coriander

Method

1. Peel the onions, garlic and carrots. Crush the garlic and dice the onions, carrots, celery and red peppers, removing the stalks and seeds of the peppers.
2. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a casserole dish. Add the vegetables, chili powder, cumin and cinnamon and stir fry for 5 minutes on a medium-low heat.
3. Drain the kidney beans while the vegetables cook.
4. Add the minced meat and stir until it is cooked. Add the kidney beans and tomatoes and let it simmer for another 5 minutes.
5. Chop a handful of fresh coriander and add it. For a spicier dish, crush a dried cayenne pepper and add it.
6. Serve with boiled rice and a mixed salad.

Chef Bob