Meat mains
Venison chilli with chocolate
This chilli might seem a little heavy on the beans, but that's the way we like it. The chocolate gives it extra richness and unctuousness. The extra spices make the whole dish a lot more balanced and interesting. If you have an army to feed, you can double the quantities by using more venison or adding in other diced or minced meat – the diced will give a bit of added texture.
Ingredients
- 500g minced venison
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp dried coriander
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 2 carrots, finely chopped
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 100ml stock
- 2x400g tin kidney beans, drained
- 50g 85% dark chocolate
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Mix the venison with the oregano, ground cumin, cinnamon, dried coriander and half the garlic and chilli, and leave to marinade for an hour or so.
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Step 2
Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the cumin seeds and coriander seeds and gently cook, stirring regularly, until they start smelling.
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Step 3
Add the onion, carrot and remaining garlic and cook over a low heat to soften. Now add the spiced up venison and increase the heat to brown it - breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon.
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Step 4
Stir in the chopped tomatoes, stock and remaining chilli. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for an hour, stirring occasionally.
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Step 5
Add water if it gets too dry. It should be rich, red, and thickened. Finally, add the kidney beans and grate in the chocolate.
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Step 6
Stir gently and cook for a further 10 minutes with the lid off. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve with the usual chilli accompaniments of rice etc.