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Cooking with the Naked Chef
I’m having a crowd for dinner tonight. Chili, cornbread, and lemon bars for dessert. Feeding loved ones is a way I get to nurture, apart from massaging my dog’s ears and keeping her butt clean. Since I didn’t have a lot of prep time, I turned to Jamie Oliver, the Naked Chef, whose recipes are easy, swift and guaranteed. Oliver is also a prominent activist and educator. Check out his inspiring TED video, in which he talks about how eating right can change the world.
Recipe: Chili Con Carne by Jamie Oliver (from Happy Days with the Naked Chef)
Serves 6
Ingredients
1 lb. chuck steak, minced or best minced beef
2 medium onions
1 clove garlic
olive oil
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin, heaping, or 1 tsp. crushed cumin seeds, heaping
7 oz. sun-dried tomato, in olive oil
1 fresh red chili, seeded and finely chopped
2 x 14 oz. cans chopped tomatos
2 x 14 oz. cans red kidney beans, drained
1/2 stick cinnamon
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
Directions:
1. If you’re going to use the oven method, preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Chop up the onions and garlic in the food processor and fry in some olive oil until softened.
3. Chop up the meat in the processor and add to the pan, cooking it until slightly browned.
4. Place the sun-dried tomatoes and chilies in the processor with the oil and blend to form a paste. Add these to the beef with the tomatoes, cinnamon stock and a wineglass of water. Season a little more if needed.
5. Bring to a boil, cover with greaseproof paper and the lid, then either turn the heat down to simmer or cook for 1-1/2 hours or transfer to the oven for about 1-1/2 hours.
6. Add kidney beans 30 minutes before the end of cooking time.
Discussion
3 comments for “Cooking with the Naked Chef”
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I used to love hosting dinner parties; however with my work and school schedules, I just don’t have the time.
And so many of my friends have varying dietary needs (vegans, vegetarians and non-vegetarians) it makes it hard for me to cook something that would make everyone happy.
Any suggestions?
Yeah, it’s harder to cook for vegetarians. And with vegans, I don’t even try. But for my recent Chili dinner party, since one person doesn’t eat meat, I bought a Vicolo roasted mushroom pizza (at Whole Foods) that I could just heat up. Another guest doesn’t eat dairy, so I knew the cornbread wouldn’t work and I bought her tortilla chips instead. When it comes to baking dessert, I find it too confining not to use dairy, so I make sure there’s always sorbet in the freezer.
@Singleandalmost30: pastas are pretty easy if you have too many dietary needs among your guests. Many Indian foods (sans ghee or yogurt) are also vegan (dals, etc.–you can use coconut oil to cook).
Agreed with your comment about the need for dairy in baking, Wendy. Keeping sorbet around is a great tip!