Chili con Carne

This is really great because it doesn't use minced beef, which in a dish like this only sticks in your teeth and makes you wish you had eaten something else. Probably for the next twenty-four hours, despite the up and down motions in you mouth.or the toothbrush.

1 or 2 lbs of really nice chuck steak or similar, cut into thin strips Some oil a couple of onions, chopped a couple of cloves of garlic smashed 1 teaspoon of chili powder or more if you like it very hot 1 teaspoon dried Oregano 1-teaspoon ground cumin 1 tin of tomatoes 1/2 the tin of water Tin of red kidney beans. You can use chickpeas but the texture is quite different s & p

Pour some oil into a frying pan and sauté the meat strips off in at least two batches, otherwise the juices will begin to run. Transfer to a largish pan, as you go. A tad more oil in the frying pan and sauté first the onions and, when they are nearly golden add the garlic and keep stirring, then add the chill powder, oregano, cumin and cook on a few minutes to bring out the flavor. You must keep stirring, as we do not want anything to burn. Add the tomatoes and 1/2 can of water; scrape up any sticky bits off the pan into the tomato sauce before pouring over the meat in the saucepan. Add salt and plenty of ground pepper, cover and simmer very slowly for 3 hours, stirring occasionally to be sure nothing is sticking and if necessary add a little more water. Drain the can of beans, add and heat through for about 15 mins. This dish improves with keeping overnight in the fridge. You see that we Europeans do food from scratch and its easy and great.