[Benzo]

2 medium onions
1 clove of garlic
olive oil
2 level teaspoons chilli powder
1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin (or crushed cumin seeds)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
455gr/1 lb chuck steak, minced, or best minced beef
200gr/7oz sun-dried tomatoes in oil
2 x 400gr/14oz tins of tomatoes
1/2 stick of cinnamon
2 x 400gr/14oz tins of red kidney beans, drained

To cook this I use a metal pan or casserole with a lid, which you can use on the hob and in the oven. If you are going to use the oven method (see below) then preheat the oven to 150C/300F/gas 2.

Blitz the onions and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped, then fry in a little olive oil until soft. Add the chilli powder, fresh chilli, cumin and a little seasoning. Then add the minced chuck steak or beef and continue to cook, stirring until it has browned. Blitz the sun-dried tomatoes in the food processor with enough oil from the jar to loosen into a paste. Add these to the beef with the tomatoes, cinnamon stick and a wineglass of water. Season a little more if need be.

Bring to the boil, cover with greaseproof paper and the lid, then either turn the heat down to simmer and cook for 1 1/2 hours or transfer the pan to the oven for about 1 1/2 hours. Add the tinned kidney beans 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time - they are already cooked and only need warming up.

This always tastes better if you cook it the day before (to give the flavours time to develop), so it's really handy if you've got friends coming round and don't want to be stuck in the kitchen. Just take it out of the fridge and warm it up - serve it with lots of fresh crusty bread, a nice tossed salad, and a big blob of natural yoghurt or guacamole.