Our family's favourite White Bean Chilli Recipe

Being stationary has allowed us to experiment more with meals. Our girls have quite mild tastes, whereas Andy and I like flavoursome and spicy food! This chilli has emerged as a compromise! Although it means two pans to wash up, everyone enjoys it and its regularly requested! The white beans, which are a staple in most Spanish supermarkets, give a tasty twist to the chilli we used to cook in the UK with kidney beans (which our girls just don’t like!)

This recipe serves a family of 4-5 people but can easily be scaled.

Ingredients

· Olive Oil: 1 Tablespoon

· Medium Onion (finely diced)

· Garlic: 1 clove (crushed)

· Minced beef: 1kg

· Red pepper: half a large pepper (finely diced)

· Tin chopped tomatoes: 1x 400g can

· Paprika: Quarter Teaspoon for kids / 1 Teaspoon for adults

· Ground cumin: Quarter Teaspoon

· Dried chillies (finely chopped / flakes): Quarter Teaspoon

· Ground coriander (dried): Quarter Teaspoon

· Tomato Ketchup or Tomato Puree: Half Tablespoon

· BBQ sauce: Half Tablespoon

· White Beans (Alubias Blancas/Navy Beans): 1 x 540g jar (400g beans)

· Salt: To taste

· Pepper: To taste

Method

Add the olive oil to a large frying pan, once hot add the diced onion and crushed clove of garlic. Fry over a medium heat for a few minutes until they turn golden, then add the minced beef to the pan and brown it all over.

At this point I split the mince into two pans: one for the adults and one for the kids who like a much milder chilli! However, you could keep it all in one pan if you all like the same level of spiciness.

For the children: Add half the quantity of chopped red pepper, some salt and pepper, a quarter of a teaspoon of oregano and then between one eighth and one quarter of a teaspoon of paprika (depending on the desired spiciness). Then add half a tablespoon of tomato ketchup and half the tin of chopped tomatoes, and simmer for 15-20 minutes before adding half the quantity of white beans. Add a splash of water if it starts to dry out. Adjust the flavour and spiciness to your preferred taste.

For the adults: Add the red pepper (or sometimes we replace with green pepper as this gives a different flavour). Then add the spices (1 teaspoon of paprika, a quarter of a teaspoon of chilli flakes, a quarter of a teaspoon of cumin powder, a quarter of a teaspoon of coriander powder, salt and pepper) and then a half tablespoon of BBQ sauce (or tomato ketchup/puree if you prefer). Add the rest of the tin of tomatoes and rinse the tin out with some water before adding this too. Again, cook for 15-20 minutes before adding the white beans. Add a splash of water if it starts to dry out. Adjust the spiciness to your preferred taste .

Serving suggestion:

We like it served in bowls with grated cheese, guacamole, nachos and tortilla wraps.

Wine Suggestion:

We occasionally enjoy this meal with a glass of wine, a full-bodied red such as a Rioja pairs well. With LIDL being our nearest supermarket during lockdown we have been sampling their Riojas, many of which we enjoyed back in the UK too, only here in Spain they are about 30-40% cheaper!

Wines we have tried and appreciated, are Cepa Lebrel Rioja Reserva (2014) and

Baturrica Tarragona Gran Reserva (2012), both are rated highly by LIDL’s wine team too.