Chilli con carne with a twist: a recipe you need to try for your dinner party

Ingredients:

Chorizo - just a thumb length

Smoked bacon lardons or some sliced and diced smoky bacon

Lean steak mince (500g)

Tomato puree

Onion

Garlic

Carrot

Celery

Peppers

Mushrooms

Fresh chillis

Hot chilli powder

Fresh baby plum tomatoes

Tinned chopped toms

Tinned Kidney beans - rinsed!

Thyme

Bouquet garni

Beef stock (stock cubes fine)

Chicken stock (ditto)

Hendo's Relish

Ground black pepper

Salt

Bay leaves

Recipe > The world's easiest chicken curry recipeMethod:

- Heat vegetable oil in a large heavy-based pan and fry off lardons and chorizo until the two meats are starting to crisp and the oil taking on the colour;

- Add steak mince. Cook on a high heat and get stuck into it with a utensil until all the water evaporates and the mince lets go of its own fats to fry. You’ll hear the sound change to a sizzle - it's so exciting. Keep the pan moving or it'll catch.

- Turn off the heat and take all of the meat out of that pan once fried off and set aside in a bowl.

- Add a splash good quality olive oil to the same pan and throw in lots of chopped onion. More than you think necessary. Slowly cook on a lowish heat until translucent. This sweetening process is the magic.

- Add fresh chopped garlic and keep the pan moving for five minutes or so, still on the downlow. Burnt garlic is gross!

- Throw in finely chopped carrot and celery and cook on a low to medium heat for 15 mins. This is called a Mirepoix and the process is done to sweeten and soften the ingredients. Don’t be tempted to rush this bit. Patience, my friend.

- Throw in your chopped peppers and chopped chillis. Up to you how many but at least two salad chillis - doesn't have to be 'owt fancy, and keep stirring. Chuck a few whole ones in if you want to play tricks on tipsy pals later!

- Pour in the juices released from your resting meat and keep stirring - this is where you'll start to build a chilli that your mates will talk about for years to come.

- Add a little salt (not too much as the smoked bacon and stock are salty!) and lots of turns of a pepper grinder.

- Throw your meat back in and a good squeeze of tomato puree and a few shakes of your Hendos Relish (Worcester Sauce to anyone outside Yorkshire!) Turn up the heat and cook off the puree or it will be bitter!

- Then add stock and chilli powder - and lots of it ... about five tablespoons then slosh in half a bottle of red wine quickly.

- Stir and cook until the alcohol evaporates. This will begin to get sticky.

- Then add your fresh tomatoes, chopped tomatoes - Italian only - and rinsed kidney beans.

- Throw in chopped mushrooms, bay leaves, bouquet garni and thyme.

- Cover. Bring to the simmer and lower the heat for two hours, lid on

- Stir frequently.

Behold, the best chilli con carne you have ever tasted. Ever. Fact.

PS: good luck finding that bouquet garni!