Slow cooker chuck Beef and Shallot chilli
Ingredients
10 shallots
500g diced chuck beef
1 tbsp plain flour
2 tsp smoked paprika
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 pint beef stock, hot
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin kidney beans
1 cinnamon stick
Method
■ Place the shallots in a bowl and pour over boiling water. Allow the shallot skins to soften in the water for 10 minutes before easily peeling – keep the shallots whole.
■ In the meantime, place the diced beef in a large bowl along with the flour, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Make sure the beef is thoroughly coated in the flour mixture.
■ Heat the oil in a large frying pan and in batches brown the meat well until it has just caramelised. Once browned, place the meat into the slow cooker along with the prepared shallots.
■ In a large jug dissolve the cocoa powder in 20ml of hot water. Add the cumin, cayenne pepper and sweet chilli sauce to create a thick paste. Stir in the hot stock before pouring it all into the slow cooker. Add the chopped tomato, kidney beans and cinnamon to the slow cooker along with a large pinch of salt and pepper. Stir all the ingredients together and then place the lid on.
■ Cook on low for 7-8 hours (3.5-4 hours on high) until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened.
■ Half an hour before serving, if the sauce needs reducing further, just pour the chilli into the pan and then simmer over a medium heat until the sauce has thickened to reach your preferred consistency.