The Paper Chef - Paul's Entry

Ilva, from Lucullian delights, has resurrected a fun little monthly event: The Paper Chef, and yesterday’s unseasonably autumn weather was perfectly suited for the four ingredients selected- bacon, plum tomatoes, potatoes and swedes.

I bought all my ingredients (except the swede) from our local organic market- the tomatoes and bacon were both especially delicious. I did have trouble sourcing the swede. It is summer here, so that may explain the absence. Luckily Mike, was able to stumble on the elusive root, at the city markets.
My original idea was to make a soup, or a stew. Finally I added sausages to the mix and created my own version of Bangers and Mash. It was just the thing and the sausages and bacon added something different to our mostly vegetable based summer meals. I hope you like it.

Components.
400g fresh plum tomatoes, halved
2 garlic cloves, peeled
Extra virgin olive oil (fruity rather than peppery)
500g excellent quality sausages (I used miniature pork and veal ones)
A splash of red wine
250 swedes, cut into cubes (peeled weight
250g floury potatoes, cut into cubes (peeled weight)
Gruyere cheese, to taste
100ml cream (35% milk fat)
Sea salt
Fresh white pepper
2 slices bacon (organic is superior- no scary chemical additives)
Fresh chopped parsley

Process
Turn the oven to 180c. Place the tomatoes in a tray, cut side up. Drizzle over with olive oil and add the whole garlic cloves as well. Bake for about 20- 30 minutes or until cooked and slightly collapsed. Allow to cool and remove the skins. Roughly mash the tomatoes and garlic into a bowl.
Heat a little olive oil in a pan and brown the sausages for a few moments. Splash in the wine and cover the pan. Braise the sausages gently for 20minutes or until tender. Add the reserved tomato sauce and continue to simmer for a few moments more.
In the meantime, steam the potatoes and swede cubes separately. The swede will take twice as long as the potatoes. I lost count of the time, so judge for yourself. Pass the vegetables through a mouli to create a fine puree. Add the cream, gruyere, sea salt and white pepper. Heat gently, beating well to incorparate all the elements.
Grill the bacon until lightly brown and crisp.
Serve the sausages with the potato and swede puree, topped with crispy bacon. Sprinkle with parsley for the final touch.

Zucchini with Almond, Onion and Tomato

This is a recipe I used to cook when I was a teenager. I had forgotten about it until recently, when my mother sent my old cooking books down from my hometown Sydney. It was great to read again, the recipes of which I used to cook as a culinary obsessed adolescent.
The original recipe for this dish included sweet caramelized almonds, and I must say I thought the idea rather novel at the time. Back then I made the dish without the caramelized almonds because my mother didn’t have an appreciation of sweet things in a savoury dish, and it was too radical to even think of adding the almonds. Now that I’m a big boy, I do include the sweet crunchy almonds. I always get my way in the end. Ha!
To prepare the caramelized almonds simple toss some blanched almonds with a bit of sugar, a pinch of salt and a tiny drizzle of oil in a pan. The sugar will melt and coat the almonds lightly. The almonds are ready when they have turned a golden brown colour.
It is a revolting 42c today here in Melbourne and I am beginning to feel the sweat dripping down my arm as I type (not the most glamorous of descriptions, but so it is). So I bid all farewell until next year. We hope everyone has a wonderful New Year-prosperous and full of delicious foods to eat and wine to drink.

Components
Extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
500 g zucchini (courgettes), sliced
400g tin Italian tomatoes, crushed with a fork
Stock
1 tsp dried Greek oregano
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
A handful of caramelized almonds (see story above)

Process
Heat the olive oil in a pan, and gently sauté the onion, garlic and oregano.
Add the zucchini (courgettes) and allow to very lightly brown- about 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and enough stock to moisten the dish (about 100 ml or so). Cover the pan and simmer until the zucchinis are just cooked- cooking time shouldn’t be more 10 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Serve hot, warm or room temperature with the almonds sprinkled over the dish just before serving. Serves 4.

Tomato Smothered Potatoes

If I’m going to be honest, I have to say that even though vegetable dishes where consumed at home, meat was definitely the star. Family menus were usually planned around the meat, the vegetables being an afterthought. That’s not to say though that the vegetables dishes we ate were boring. On the contrary they were quiet good, just not as appreciated I guess.
Both my mother and my paternal grandmother prepared this recipe. I’ve simplified the original method because my mother’s version is a little complicated (I think). My mother likes to deep-fry the potatoes in oil, on the stove. After the initial frying she bakes the potatoes with onion and tomato in the oven. I just throw everything onto a baking dish and into the oven. I find it much easier that way. Deep-frying can get a bit stressful sometimes. The finished dish is best described as tomato smothered baked potatoes.
The recipe I’m showing today was often served with bbq chicken and garlic mayonnaise. This is one vegetable dish in which I’m happy to pass up the meat.

Components
500g smallish waxy potatoes, peeled and halved
2 or 3 pickling onions, peeled and halved
About a dozen ripe red truss tomatoes
1 tsp dried Greek oregano
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Process
Heat the oven to 200c.
Place the potatoes, onion and tomatoes onto a baking dish.
Pour over a generous drizzle of oil. Sprinkle over the oregano, salt and pepper. Using your hands give all a mix, so as to combine all the elements.
Place into the oven and bake for about 30 minutes. The potatoes and onion should be golden and tender, the tomatoes cooked and somewhat collapsed.
Allow the veggies to cool a bit (about 5 minutes).
Remove the skins from the tomatoes, leaving the tomatoes still in the dish. Lightly toss the components together. The tomatoes should break up a little, coating the onion and potato with the juices and oil in the pan.
Return to the oven for another 5 minutes and serve immediately.
Enough for 2.

Rigatoni with Pinenuts, Raisins, Ricotta & Tomato

Years ago, when I was managing a well-known Melbourne café, I worked with a Aussie-Italian chef. This was one of the more unusual dishes she did for the menu. The chef who was responsible for this dish was of Sicilian descent and apparently the combination of flavours is common over there. Dried fruits, honey, pine nuts and ricotta are characteristic ingredients in Sicilian cuisine, and not just for the desserts! I think in my collection of regional Italian cookery books, I’ve got a recipe for pasta with cocoa and sugar, too.
I wouldn’t usually make a dish like this during winter, but the weather has been so unseasonably warm that I’ve been inspired to look ahead to the coming summer (as much as I dislike the heat). And besides, I love the weird and wonderful combination of the sweet honey and fruits with ricotta, tomato and crunchy pine nuts. I serve this pasta with a simple salad so as to not overwhelm the palate with too many flavours.

Components
200g rigatoni
½ brown onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Olive oil for sautéing and tossing the pasta
400g tinned Italian tomatoes, crushed
Fresh basil, oregano or parsley
I tablespoon honey
30g pine nuts, lightly browned.
30g raisins (or currants or sultanas)
Freshly grated Pecorino cheese
Ricotta, broken up into chunks
Sea salt
Black pepper

Process
Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic until softened (about 10 minutes). Add the tomatoes and chosen herbs. Simmer for 20 minutes or until saucy. You may need to add water if the sauce becomes too thick. Depending on the flavour of the tomatoes, I sometimes add 1 tsp of sugar. Season with salt and pepper.
While the sauce is cooking, bring a pot of salted water to the boil and cook your pasta until al dente.
Combine together the pine nuts, raisins and honey.
Warm the ricotta chunks in the tomato sauce for a few moments.
Toss the pasta with the sauce and ricotta. Stir through the pine nut and raisin mixture (you may like to use more or else). If you have are using fresh basil, toss through some of that too.
Serve straight away with freshly grated Pecorino cheese. Serves 2.

Ossobuco braised with Tomatoes and White Wine

Traditionally, ossobuco is braised without tomatoes. If one is cooking ossobuco with tomatoes then it is incorrect to call it “Ossobuco alla Milanese” So for this reason I have refrained from naming today’s recipe as such.
This is the first time I have actually cooked my ossobuco with tomato. I usually do mine “in bianco” , that is, without tomato. I wanted to try it because it seems to be the most popular way to do it here in Australia. I did enjoy it this way, but I do prefer the traditional Milanese way - braised simply with dry white wine and finished with gremolata. It’s a more elegant approach to a delicate meat like veal. Tomato seems to mask its delicate flavour.
I also did as most Aussie restaurants do and served my tomato braised ossobuco with Risotto alla Milanese (saffron risotto). I think that was a mistake to do so. The two simply clashed! Tomatoes are just too assertive a flavour to complement the perfumed fragrance of saffron. Pureed potato or soft polenta would have been a better match. Oh well, live and learn!

Ingredients
1 kg veal ossobuco
½ tsp mustard powder
1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tsp finely chopped thyme
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
250ml white wine
400g tin Italian tomatoes, chopped
Zest from 1 lemon, in large strips
A few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper

For the gremolata
Finely chopped lemon zest, garlic and parsley

Method
In a small bowl, mix together the mustard and flour. Use this flour to lightly coat the pieces of ossobuco. You may need more or less flour, depending on the size of the meat.
In a wide and deep saucepan, sauté the onion, garlic, parsley, thyme and rosemary for 15 minutes or until the onion has softened. Remove the onion to a small plate.
Add a touch more oil to the pan and turn the heat to high. Add the ossobuco to the pan in a single layer and cook for 1 minute each side, just enough to seal and lightly colour the meat. Remove the meat to a plate.
Throw the wine into the pan and deglaze, stirring and scraping to dissolve any caramelization on the base of the pan. Add the strips of lemon zest and the chopped tomatoes.
Return the meat and onion to the saucepan.
Add water (or stock), to barely cover the meat. Bring the stew to a simmer and cover the pan with a lid. Allow to simmer for 1 to 2 hours or until the meat is very tender. If you can be bothered, remove the strips of lemon zest. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
For the gremolata: Chop the lemon zest, garlic and parsley to a very fine powder. I use more parsley than lemon, and garlic the least. But compose your gremolata to suit youself. It should be prepared just before using, as parsley loses its fragrance within minutes.
Sprinkle over the ossobuco.
Enough for 2 or 3 serves.

Pumpkins and Soup

The cute and little pumpkins pictured here go by the name of Dumplings. I bought these, because I was seduced by their prettiness and small size (like me). They have a sweet nutty flavour and a texture which is more like a sweet potato than a pumpkin. The flesh of these pumpkins are a little too mild for soup, but they are divine when roasted with extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and black pepper.

I didn’t plan to write of pumpkin soup but this one was so lovely that I had to share the recipe. The caramelized onion, tomatoes and bacon make this soup special. Of course, if you are vegetarian you can leave out the bacon, but I think it does complete the dish.

The Laughing Cow cheese is there for a nostalgic fun, my mother would often add a spoonful of cream cheese to soups and stews when I was a little boy :)

Pumpkin and Tomato Soup

Ingredients
20g butter
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp sticky brown sugar
1 rosemary sprig
1.5 kilo cubed pumpkin (cleaned weight)
400g tin Italian tomatoes, chopped
Beef stock, to cover (cubes are fine)
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
100g bacon, finely diced
Freshly grated Parmesan or Grana, to taste
Single portions of “Laughing Cow”, to serve

Method
Place the onion, rosemary, butter and olive oil into a soup pot. Turn the heat to the lowest setting and cook very gently for 30 minutes or until the onions are soft and caramelized. Discard the rosemary sprig.
Add the brown sugar and cook for 1 minute, watching the sugar does not burn.
Tumble in the pumpkin cubes and the tomatoes.
Add enough stock to barely cover and simmer for 30 minutes until the pumpkin is tender.
In the meantime, place the bacon with a few drops of olive oil into a small saucepan and over a low heat cook the bacon until brown and crispy. Drain the bacon on paper towels and discard the rendered fat in the saucepan.
Puree the soup using whatever gadget you possess. I like mine to have a bit of texture. Adjust the consistency with extra stock (if too thick).
When you are ready to eat, reheat the soup. Once the soup has boiled again, remove from the heat and season with the parmesan or grana, salt and pepper.
Serve the soup in deep bowls with a ½ cube of laughing cow cheese per serve and a sprinkling of crispy bacon.
You should get about 8 generous serves.

Slutty Spaghetti

This was the first dish I ever cooked for my partner. Yes, as the title suggests I thought I was being very clever. Little did I know, my partner hates anchovy and I was to find this out several months after the fact.
This particular pasta sauce is known in Italian as “puttanesca”, and translates as “in the style of the whore”. These Italian whores must be pretty classy. All the Aussie whores I know (and I know plenty) wouldn’t know what their kitchen looked like, let alone the inside of a food store. Lets just say, cooking food is not a priority in their lives…..
Anyway, I must have done something right the night I cooked this for my beloved, because he is still here, by my side. And I would also like to mention that he doesn’t mind anchovies every now and then. Well actually, I just disguise them. Out of sight, out of mind.

Ingredients
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
16 marinated anchovy fillets
4-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (from the marinated anchovy)
1 dried red chili
400g tin Italian tomatoes, chopped and mashed with a fork
1 tsp dried greek oregano
1 tbsp herb infused red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
12 black olives, cut into slithers
1 tbsp salted capers, rinsed of their preserving salt
Freshly chopped parsley

Method
Place the garlic, oil, and anchovy into a saucepan.and, over a low heat, cook for about 10 minutes until the anchovy has melted into a paste and emulsified into the oil. Do not allow the garlic to brown.
Add the chili and oregano and fry for a few seconds.
Add the tomatoes, red wine vinegar, and sugar. Cook over a low heat, until well reduced (about 15 minutes).
Finish with the olives and capers.
The flavours of this sauce are strong, almost aggressive (like a street whore, I guess).
Toss through 200g of freshly boiled al dente spaghetti. You may need to add a few drops of extra virgin olive oil, to help lubricate the pasta.
Lots of fresh parsley added at the last minute will lift the flavour. And please, no cheese with this dish-it doesn’t work.
Serves 2 (food) sluts.

Note- I have stipulated my marinated anchovy in the list of ingredients. However plain anchovy in oil are fine to use in this sauce.

La Ribollita Estiva

I have written of this famous Tuscan soup in the past. Traditionally this thick winter soup is made with cavolo nero, beans and sturdy Tuscan bread. It is reboiled the following day, hence the name, “La Ribollita”. Ribollire translates to reboil from Italian to English.
Cavolo Nero or black cabbage is an assertive green leafed vegetable only found during winter. As it is clearly not winter in my part of the world, I have taken liberty to substitute cavolo nero with silverbeet, which incidentally is in season. The bunch I had was the greenest and freshest I have ever seen. It is such a pleasure to cook with fine produce.
I honestly don’t know what a Tuscan may think of my Ribollita Estiva, but I thought it was rather good, so without further due, here is the recipe.

Ingredients
1 large red onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 or 2 celery stalks, chopped
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 bunch silverbeet, soaked to remove any dirt
2 x 400g cans Italian borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
400g can Italian tomatoes, chopped
30g tomato paste (concentrated tomato puree)
Chicken stock (fake is fine)
Herbs-basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage
200g crustless Tuscan style bread, torn into small pieces
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper

Method
As for most soups, sauces and stews, I begin by cooking the onion, carrot, celery and the chosen herbs with the olive oil, very slowly. I do this for about 30 minutes or until the onion begins to caramelize. This is one area in my life where I have patience. I know the time invested in slow cooking the base of vegetables will reward in plenty of flavour, to the finished dish. In Italian and Spanish cuisine this stage is known as “sofrito”.
In the meantime, shred the silverbeet leaves, and chop the stalks into cubes (about 1cm).
Add the silverbeet to the browned vegetables and toss about for a few minutes. Add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste and enough chicken stock to submerge everything. Simmer for 45 minutes.
Add the beans and simmer for another 15 minutes. Leave the soup to rest in the fridge, until the following day.
When you are ready to eat, bring the soup to the boil, then adjust to a simmer.
I use the hand blender to puree a little of the soup, thus thickening it slightly and fusing the flavours together.
Add the bread, and break it up into the soup, using a wooden spoon. The bread will thicken the soup. Simmer for 15 minutes. Adjust with more stock or bread, to suit your desired texture. I like a medium thickness, but I have seen some very thick soups in Italian books.

Season with salt and pepper. Serve drizzled with threads of peppery extra virgin olive oil and more freshly chopped herbs. Plenty for 4 people.
Note-Try to find a Tuscan style bread for this soup. The traditional bread of Toscana, contains little or no salt. But of course any good, sturdy bread will do.

My Sugo (Pure and Intense)

I don’t care what any Italian nonna tells you, this is the best and only way to make your own “sugo”. You wont find any garlic, onion, carrot, celery, wine, stock etc in this sauce. But it is truly important to use the best tomatoes. The ones pictured here were from the communal vegetable garden in my apartment block.
If you have never bothered to make your own sugo, I beg you to try. You will be very pleasantly surprised. In fact making this beautiful sauce is probably the only thing I look forward to in the summer.

Ingredients
2 kilos of beautiful red ripe tomatoes (not those insipid things from the supermarket)
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
Sugar
A few basil leaves

Method
Preheat the oven to 200c.
Lay out your tomatoes onto a roasting pan (or two) and drizzle over some oil.
Bake them for 30–45 minutes until the skins have split and they are tender within. Under any circumstances do NOT allow the tomatoes to caramelize! This is not the flavour you want your sugo to have.
Allow them to rest a little and cool down. Remove the blistered skins and discard. Place the tomatoes into a wide pan, along with any of the sweet juices.
Mash the tomatoes, I just use a potato masher, and over the lowest heat allow them to reduce to sauce consistency, about 30-45 minutes. It is really important to cook the sauce on the lowest heat because tomatoes have a high sugar content, and these sugars will burn if cooked over a high heat.
Season with salt, pepper and sugar. Throw in the basil leaves and a generous amount of olive oil.
You will be amazed of the purity and intensity of flavours this sauce has.
A divine balance of sweet and sour. Use it for pasta, pizza etc. Can be stored in the fridge for a few days

Angela's Arroz

This dish is what I call Latino comfort food and I ate this more than anything else when I was growing up. Well okay, my mother didn’t use Spanish calasparra rice or fresh fish. She used Australian long grain rice and tinned tuna, but I guess she had more mouths to feed than I do and it was cheap that way. Actually tinned tuna is delicious stirred through this rice at the last minute, so don’t hesitate to do that if you are down on time and cash. Feel free to substitute beans or chickpeas for the fish too, they work just as well
I love this peasant-style dish. This just goes to show that food doesn’t have to be posh to be fabulous.

Ingredients
1 onion (red or brown), finely chopped
1 celery stalk (optional), finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp dried greek oregano
About 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
A pinch chili flakes
1 tsp Spanish paprika (not smoked)
200g calasparra rice (buy from Spanish delis)
75ml rose wine
30g tomato paste
Fish stock (I used Spanish fish stock cubes and water)
200g fish fillets (any type)
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
Freshly chopped parsley
Thyme sprigs, to garnish

Method
Begin with the sofrito-that is gently cook the onion, celery, garlic and herbs in the olive oil very gently for about 30 minutes, or until beginning to caramelize.
In the meantime, poach the fish in the stock. Remove the fish to a plate and reserve the stock.
When the fish is cool enough to handle, break it into small chunks.
Add the chili and paprika to the onion mixture. Stir well. Bring the heat to medium and throw in the rice. Toss the rice in the pan for a minute or so. Splash in the wine and tomato paste, then allow to evaporate.
Now I begin to add the stock bit by bit, just as you would for risotto. My mother never did this, she added all the liquid at once and cooked it by absorption. I prefer my method only because I have become so accustomed to cooking risotto and because I have a crazy obsession with perfectly cooked rice. Please yourself. When the rice is cooked al dente, stir in the fish and parsley.
Add salt and pepper, if you haven’t already done so. If you have gone the tinned tuna route, adding a garnish of thyme will prevent you feeling like a pauper. Either way, I always add a touch of glamour.
Serves 2.

Tomato Gazpacho

I knew it was going to be stinking hot today, so I prepared the glorious Spanish soup, Gazpacho. This tomato soup is served cold, so its great for summer days. I roasted my tomatoes the day before, so this way I would not have to turn on the oven in such ridiculous weather conditions. However, you can also do this with raw tomatoes-that’s how it is done in Spain anyway.
This is an austere soup and I have tasted some revolting gazpachos in the past, insipid and watery. If you use the best bread, olive oil, vinegar and tomatoes for this dish, it will be a success.

Ingredients
1.5 kilos beautiful, red, ripe tomatoes
50g peeled cucumber, roughly chopped
150g red pepper, cut into rough chunks, seeds and membranes removed
1 garlic clove
100g crustless sourdough bread, cut into chunks
A pinch of chilli
A pinch of dried greek oregano
50ml sherry vinegar
50ml herb infused red wine vinegar
100ml extra virgin olive oil
500ml cold water
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
Sugar, if you need it to balance the acidity

For the garnish
Very finely chopped cucumber, red and yellow peppers, tossed with a touch of olive oil

Method
Roast the tomatoes at 200c, until the skins have split, and they are tender within (about 45 minutes). Do not allow them to caramelize.
Cool and remove the skins.
Now all that is needed is to blend or process all the remaining ingredients (except the garnish). You can have your gazpacho, silky smooth or coarse and rustic. I like mine on the smooth side, but I will leave the choice up you.
Chill in the fridge and serve sprinkled with the garnish ingredients.
I like this soup with lots of bread. Enough for 6-8 serves.

Puy Lentils with Ginger & Tomato

I often cook lentils as a side dish. But not any ordinary lentil. My preference is for the Puy lentil. This variety is originally from France and was only available imported years ago (at a crazy price. Lentils are peasant food after all!). I buy mine loose from the markets. They are known as “Bondi lentils”. Maybe this name is a reference to their dark colour and is named after the sun worshippers who tan on Bondi beach…I like them because they retain their texture and do not become mushy, like other varieties. Lentils traditionally marry well with game meats. I like to serve lentils with scallops like they do at River Café in London. (And no. I haven’t eaten there. Maybe one day…)

Ingredients
200g Puy lentils (or Bondi lentils)
Stock or water (I used rabbit stock. I usually would not be this extravagant, but it is what I had)
100g pancetta, diced
2 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 garlic clove, finely diced
1 tbsp olive oil
100ml red wine
400g can tomatoes, chopped
Salt
Fresh black pepper
Plenty of coarsely chopped coriander
Extra virgin olive oil

Method
Wash the lentils in a sieve.
Bring the stock or water to the boil, in a saucepan.
Add the lentils and boil gently for 20 minutes. The lentils will absorb most of the stock, and only a small amount of liquid should remain. Drain them only if they are swimming in liquid and set aside.
Saute the pancetta, garlic and half the ginger in the oil. Do this gently until the pancetta is just starting to crisp.
Add the red wine and allow to bubble for a minute.
The lentils go in next followed by the tomatoes.
Cook this gently for 15-20 minutes. The liquid will evaporate and the lentils will be soft, but still retaining their form. Season well.
Finish with the coriander, remaining ginger and a generous drizzle of extra virgin. These last three ingredients really lift the flavours of this dish.
This amount should be enough as a side for 2-4 people (depending on appetites)

A big bowl of red

A Big Bowl of Red is what Texans call their state dish, otherwise known as Chilli con Carne. The literal translation from Spanish is “chilli with meat”. For this reason Texans do not add beans to their “chilli” as do other states in America. I do not heed by this practice, I like mine with beans. There are some very good traditional recipes posted on the internet, and one that was very strange. The ingredients included road kill (anything but skunk) and way too much chilli.I guess such a copious amount of chilli is to mask the flavour of the road kill!As mentioned earlier mine has beans, deeming it inauthentic. I also replace the sugar with port. It works really well. This is great comfort food. I like it for dinner with rice and a salad, or for breakfast with good crusty bread.

Ingredients
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 onion, finely diced
1 red pepper, finely diced
130g bacon, finely diced
30g lard
600g coarse ground beef
1 tsp crushed dried chilli
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika (I use Spanish, it is by far superior)
1 tsp fresh white pepper
1 tsp fresh black pepper
125ml port
400g can tomatoes, chopped
400ml stock (fake is fine)
400g can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Fresh parsley

Method
Melt the lard over a gentle heat and fry the carrot, celery, garlic, onion, red pepper and bacon until golden. Do this slowly. It should take about 15 minutes.
Remove this to a bowl and keep aside.
Add the beef to the pan and let it brown a bit (not too much or the meat will be hard). Break it up a little, keeping it chunky.
Now return the vegetables and bacon to the pan.
Add all the spices, port, tomato and stock. Cover and simmer for 50 minutes. Check from time to time that it isn’t drying out. The final result should be a bit saucy
Add the beans and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Finish with parsley. Don’t bother being delicate with the parsley. This is supposed to be a rough and ready dish.