CORNBREAD-TOPPED CHILI CON CARNE

CORNBREAD-TOPPED CHILI CON CARNE image

Yield 15-20 servings

Number Of Ingredients 27

For the Chilli Con Carne
4 onions
2 cloves garlic
¼ cup/4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons dried or crushed chillies, or to taste
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
5 cardamom pods, bruised
2 red bell peppers
3lbs 4oz ground beef
7 cups canned chopped tomatoes
½ cup/8 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1/2 cup/8 tablespoons tomato purée
1 cup water
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
3½ cups red kidney beans
For the Cornbread
1½ teaspoons salt
4 cups cornmeal
¼ cup/4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups buttermilk
4 eggs
2 teaspoons honey flour
¼ cup/4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated

Steps:

Peel and finely chop onions and garlic. Heat oil in a very large pan - it has to take every-thing later - and fry onion and garlic until they begin to soften. Add chilli, coriander, cumin and crushed cardamom pods and stir well. Deseed and finely dice the red peppers, and tip into the spicy onion. Break up ground beef, keep turning it to separate it as the meat browns. Add chopped tomatoes, kidney beans, ketchup, purée and water. When chilli starts to boil, sprinkle over the cocoa and stir it in. Simmer partially covered for 1½ hours. At this point you can cool and freeze, or just keep it in the fridge overnight. Preheat oven to 425°F. Tip the chilli into a large, wide dish or keep in the pan that is ovenproof. Combine salt, cornmeal, flour, baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl. Whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, honey and oil in a glass measuring cup, and then stir into the dry ingredients. Pour cornmeal topping over the chilli con carne, or blob it over to cover the top as evenly as possible. Sprinkle cheese over the top of the cornbread and bake in oven for 30 mins or until the cornbread topping is risen and golden and the chilli underneath is bubbling. Let stand for about 5 mins once out of the oven before cutting the top into squares or slices to serve with a helping of chilli underneath. Serve with guacamole, some sour cream and a mounded pile of strong grated Cheddar.