Nigella's Homemade Chili Recipe

4.86 from 21 votes

Nigella's Homemade Chili Recipe

Be prepared to impress your taste buds and any dinner guests who are lucky enough to get a taste this delicious homemade chili recipe!

Prep Time15

Cook Time3

Course: Main Course, Side Dish, Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chili recipe, gluten-free chili recipe

Servings: servings

Calories: 453kcal

Author: Nigella Lawson

Ingredients

10 (or 5 linked pairs) chorizo sausages (not the salami sort), approximately 1 ¼ pounds.
3 ¼ pound boneless beef shank cut into ¾-inch cubes
3 onions (about 1 pound), peeled
3 cloves garlic peeled
1 fresh long red chile seeded
¼ cup vegetable oil
Seeds from 3 cardamom pods
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
¼ cup tomato paste
¼ cup tomato ketchup
4 cans red kidney beans (15 ounces each), drained
3 cans diced tomatoes (14 ounces each)
¼ cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup water (swished out in one of the diced tomato cans)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 300° F.
Finely chop, or process the onion, garlic and chile.
Heat the oil in a large ovenproof pan (with a lid) or cast-iron or enameled Dutch oven and fry the onion, garlic and chile until soft, on low for about 10 minutes, then add the cardamom sees, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and red pepper flakes.
Stir the oniony spiced mixture together and then add the chorizo, sliced into ¼-in. coins, letting them ooze their paprika-orange oil.
Drop in the cubes of beef, turning them in the pan with the chorizo and onion mix, to brown the meat.
Stir in the tomato paste, ketchup, drained kidney beans and diced tomatoes. Add the water and bring the chili to a boil.
Once it's started bubbling, sprinkle the chocolate chips over the chili and give it a good stir. Put on the lid and transfer to the oven.
Cook at this low heat for 3 hours. Once cooked it is best left overnight to improve the flavor.

Notes

Buying Meat:

If you're not buying your meat from a butcher, you can use regular stew meat from the supermarket, but you'll need to cube it smaller and it is unlikely to get quite as tender as shin. I often buy shank.

Make Ahead Tip:

Cook the chili in the oven for 2 ½ hours only. Cool, cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. When ready to use, tip the chili into a pan and bring slowly to the boil on the stove top, stirring occasionally. Cover tightly and return to the oven for 1 hour until piping hot.

Freeze Ahead Tip:

Cook the chili for 2 ½ hours only. Cool and freeze. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat as above.

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