slow cooked for 5 hours

Chilli

• Olive oil
• 2 red onions
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 fresh red chillies ( the large, not so hot ones – or more if you want more heat)
• 30 g fresh coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 x 400 g tins of chopped tomatoes
• 2 tomato tins of water
• 1 kg beef shin, bone in, sinew removed
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 1 x 400 g tin of cannellini beans
• Rock salt and freshly ground pepper

Salsa

• 1 green pepper
• 4 spring onions
• 150 g cherry tomatoes
• Splash of extra virgin olive oil
• Splash of white wine vinegar
• Fluffy basmati rice and fat free yoghurt (to serve)

Preheat your oven to 150 degrees C.

Heat a large heavy bottomed casserole on the stove top on a medium heat. Add swig of olive oil to the pan. Add chopped red onions and minced garlic and fry for a couple of minutes. Add chopped chillis and the roots and stalks of the coriander, leaving the tops for the salsa and garnish. Add the spices and a good grind of salt and pepper. Fry till the mixture is caramelized and gnarly, but not burnt.

Pour in the chopped tomatoes, fill each tin with water and add these to the casserole. Stir to mix, making sure you gather up all the goodness at the bottom of the casserole.

Roll the shin of beef in salt and pepper to coat, then place gently in the centre of the casserole. Turn to coat in the liquid. Pop the bay leaves into the mixture.

Place the lid on the casserole and move to the pre-heated oven. Cook for 5 hours. I suggest checking after a couple of hours, and then each hour, to make sure the liquid is not drying up. As I mentioned, my chilli could have done initially with more liquid, or half an hour’s less cooking time to retain more moisture.

Meanwhile, empty the tin of cannellini beans into a frying pan with a swig of olive oil, and fry for a couple of minutes until some of the beans split.

Remove the casserole from the oven, and add the cannellini beans.

To make the salsa, blitz the green pepper, spring onions, cherry tomatoes and most of the coriander tops in a food processor. Put into a bowl with a splash of extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar.

Serve the Mexican chilli with the salsa, fluffy rice and yoghurt, and coriander leaves to garnish.