Meat mains
Crispy chilli beef pancakes
The chilli beef takes a while to cook, but its absolutely worth it. Serve with yoghurt mixed with some chopped fresh coriander and mint, and with a green salad or some cooked greens. To make the beef mixture to go a bit further, add a tin of cooked, rinsed and drained red kidney beans. Make this with our basic pancake mix.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil for frying, e.g. vegetable or sunflower
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1-2 chillies, depending on your preference for heat, finely chopped
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- 450g minced beef
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 2 small squares of dark chocolate
- 8 pancakes
- 1-2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 200g breadcrumbs
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion and fry gently for about 5 minutes to soften. Add the garlic, chilli, cumin and coriander and fry for another minute or two.
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Step 2
Add the mince and fry to brown all over, then add the tomato purée, tinned tomatoes and chocolate.
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Step 3
Stir to combine, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer on the lowest heat for about two hours. Stir and check every now and again, ensuring you do not allow the mixture to catch on the bottom of the pan. The mixture should have all the liquid reduced by the end; it shouldn't be too sloppy. Leave it to cool while you make the pancakes (it's easier to fill them when the mixture is cold), then place the pancakes on a non-stick baking tray.
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Step 4
Preheat oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Spoon about two dessertspoons of the beef mixture into the middle of the pancakes, brush a little of the beaten egg on one edge of the pancake, fold over and press down with your fingers to seal. Brush the top with more beaten egg.
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Step 5
Sprinkle over a liberal amount of breadcrumbs and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are golden and the pancakes heated through.
