Recipe Beef Chili with Root Parsley

[Hemulen]

Beef Chili with Root Parsley

Serves 4 | Preparation & cooking time 45-50 min

Ingredients​

​

✧ 100 g/3.5 oz thinly sliced air cured/air dried ham​

✧ 300 g/10.6 oz/0.66 lb minced lean beef​

✧ 250-300 g/0.55-0.66 lb root parsley​

✧ 2 shallots (or 1 medium-sized yellow onion)​

✧ 5-6 garlic cloves​

✧ 2 tbsp ev olive oil​

✧ 500 g/1.1 lb/17.6 oz passata (sieved, crushed tomatoes)​

✧ 50-70 ml/0.2-0.3 cups water​

✧ 400 g/0.88 lb/14.1 oz canned lentils or pinto beans (about 240 g/0,53 lb/8.5 oz when drained)​

✧ 1 tsp dried basil (or 3 tsp fresh)​

✧ 1 tsp dried oregano (or 3 tsp fresh)​

✧ 1 tsp dried cilantro (or 3 tsp fresh)​

✧ 1 tbsp lime juice​

✧ 1 tsp paprika (dried bell pepper)​

✧ 1 tsp chili flakes (+ a pinch for garnish)​

✧ 1 tsp sugar​

✧ 0.5 tsp cumin​

✧ 0.25 tsp dried ginger (or 0.75 tsp grated, fresh ginger)​

✧ 0.25 tsp white pepper​

✧ 0.25 tsp cayenne pepper​

✧ salt to taste​

✧ a small handful of fresh basil, cilantro or parsley for garnish​

✧ 100-150 ml/0.4-0.6 cups sour cream/smetana to complement.​

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F/gas mark 6, no fan.
2. Place the air cured ham slices on top of parchment on a baking tray. Roast in the oven for ~5 min until light brown. Crumble the crispy ham into a bowl for later use.
3. Peel the root parsley. Cut one root into thin strips (for garnish) with a potato peeler. Grate the rest of the root parsley coarsely.
4. Brown the minced meat in a skillet/frying pan in 1 tbsp ev olive oil on medium-high heat until done: dry(ish) and lightly browned (approximately 5-8 minutes). Take aside for later use.
5. Stir-fry the onion in 1 tbsp olive oil on medium heat for about 2 minutes.
6. Add the garlic and grated root parsley and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes on medium-high heat.
7. Add the meat, herbs (if you use fresh herbs, add them a bit later), lime juice, other spices, tomato passata and 50-70 ml water. Let simmer on medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes. Add some water towards the end, if necessary.
8. Add the drained lentils or pinto beans and heat up. Mix a tablespoon of sour cream into the sauce, if you like.
9. Garnish with crumbled ham, fresh herbs, root parsley strips and chili flakes.
10. Serve with rice and sour cream.

 

[Timenspace]

That sounds wonderful, nutritious and rich layered tastes! Well done.

 

[Morning Glory]

This is an interesting version of chilli. I think I might find it a bit mild though as the chilli added is in the form of paprika and chilli flakes.

I really do like parsley root. Its difficult to find in the UK and I hadn't come across it until a few years ago. Some say that the taste is like parsnips mixed with carrots and it certainly looks almost identical to parsnip. To me it is much more perfumed and tastes of parsnip with a hint of carrot and Jerusalem artichokes. Its lovely grated in salads or made into a puree. I really like the way you reserve some here for a generous garnish. I can see that really working both in terms of contrasting texture and taste with the chilli.