“I’ve always been drawn to the raw flavour and heat you get from green chillies and green peppers and they’re really great in this dish – mixing them with loads of fresh mint and lime makes for a lively and tasty combination. Unlike a regular chilli con carne, this one is dry in style and it’s quite quick to make.” Tom Kerridge
Serves 6–8
INGREDIENTS
1kg minced pork
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp dried thyme
2 onions, diced
4 garlic cloves, finely grated
2 green peppers, cored, deseeded and diced
8 green chillies, chopped (seeds and all)
6 ripe tomatoes
150ml water
½ bunch of spring onions, trimmed and chopped
2 tsp salt, or to taste
1 tsp cracked black pepper
A bunch of mint, stalks removed, leaves shredded
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 unwaxed limes
To serve
Whole milk yoghurt
Tortillas
METHOD
1 Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the minced pork, cumin seeds and thyme and dry-fry for 10–15 minutes, breaking up the meat and stirring frequently, until it’s dry, browned and crispy.
2 Using a slotted spoon, transfer the browned spicy meat to a bowl. Drain off any excess fat, keeping a little in the pan to cook the vegetables.
3 Return the pan to a medium-low heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until softened. Stir in the green peppers and chillies and cook for a further few minutes, then return the browned meat to the pan. Give everything a good stir and cook for another 5 minutes.
4 Meanwhile, deseed and roughly chop the tomatoes.
5 Pour the water into the pan, add the tomatoes and bring to the boil. Turn the heat to its lowest setting and let the chilli bubble away, uncovered, for around 15–25 minutes, until a lot of the liquid has evaporated. You want the mixture to be juicy but not too liquid and saucy.
6 Stir in the spring onions, salt and pepper. Finally, stir through the mint, and the lime zest and juice and allow to bubble for a couple of minutes longer. Take off the heat and leave to stand for 10 minutes to let the flavours develop before serving.
7 Spoon the chilli into warmed bowls and serve with plenty of yoghurt and tortillas, with a crisp green salad on the side if you like.
Recipes & images taken from Tom’s Table by Tom Kerridge, published by Bloomsbury, Hardback $39.99. Out now!
