Jono & Jules do food & wine

The base recipe for this chilli is nothing unusual but it becomes much more special with the addition of a delicious smoked paprika butter stirred through at the end. It’s definitely our chilli of the moment! Serve with your choice of the usual chilli accompaniments – baked potatoes/rice, grated cheese, avocado, sour cream, tortilla chips….

Wine Suggestion: choice one – a nice, clean lager like Peroni or the Harviestoun Schiehallion, or choice two – a juicy red wine like the Cline Lodi Zinfandel with brambly fruit and soft, spicy tannins.

Chilli minced beef with smoked paprika butter – serves 6

• 2 tbsp olive oil or garlic oil (if you have it)
• 2 onions, thickly sliced
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1kg beef mince
• 200ml red wine
• 2 x 400g tins of kidney beans
• 1 x 400g tin of plum tomatoes
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped (or substitute 2 tsp chilli powder)
• 1 tsp crushed cumin seeds
• 500ml strong beef stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• large handful of chopped coriander, plus extra to serve
• lime wedges, to serve

FOR THE SMOKED PAPRIKA BUTTER

• 75g soft butter
• 1½ tsp smoked paprika
• finely grated zest of 1 lime and juice of ½ lime
• ½ tsp of sea salt

Heat a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the oil and cook the onions, celery and garlic over a low heat for about 10 minutes or until softened. Turn up the heat, stir in the mince and fry until browned, breaking it up as you go with a wooden spoon.

Add the red wine and scrape any crusty bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to the boil and allow the wine to reduce by half.

Stir in the beans, tomatoes, chilli, cumin, stock, bay leaves, thyme and rosemary. Season with a teaspoon of sea salt and some black pepper. Bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid and cook for at least an hour, stirring now and then. You can add a cup of water if it starts to become too thick. Likewise, if it’s not thick enough, you can simmer without the lid for the last 10 to 15 minutes.

Make the smoked paprika butter by beating the butter together with the smoked paprika, lime zest, lime juice and salt.

Remove the herb sprigs form the chilli then stir through the coriander and the flavoured butter, then allow to sit for 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning and serve with coriander and lime wedges over the top.

(Original recipe from Marcus at Home by Marcus Waring, HarperCollins, 2016.)