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№ 796 · American

Warren Ellis Chorizo Chilli

Tempo
2h
Picante
Calor 3 de 5
Dificuldade
Médio
Rende
6porções

Ingredientes

Roasted base (do FIRST, can be done day before)
1
head of garlic, top sliced off so cloves are exposed
12-15 cherry tomatoes, halved cut-side up
A drizzle of balsamic vinegar
A drizzle of olive oil
A pinch of salt
Roast at **140°C for 90 minutes**. Cool. Squeeze garlic out of skins. Blitz tomatoes briefly with a stick blender (or smash with a spoon).
The chilli
A big handful of chorizo, sliced and chopped (chorizo crú or curado, ~150g)
1
small can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
"A big handful" of mixed salami slices, casings stripped, chopped (~150g) — venison, pork, spiced Eastern European, beaver if you live somewhere weird; whatever interesting cured meats are in your fridge. Ellis-spirit demands variety.
2
slices back bacon, diced (or 100g lardons)
1
red bell pepper (or pointed red pepper), chopped
1
onion, diced
500g lean beef mince (carne moída magra)
1 cup
(250-300ml) beef stock — eyeball it
1
glass red wine (~150ml)
Spice blend (start small, build): chipotle flakes (or Cepera Chipotle, or Calabrese pimenta), cayenne, ground ginger, paprika defumada, smoked-chili-and-garlic mill if you have one, two different organic chile powders
1 tsp
herbed salt (Ellis: thyme salt — make this in winter, use all year; or just thyme + sea salt + dried oregano)
1 tsp
jam-of-character: smoky onion relish, caramelized onion marmalade, or fig-balsamic chutney (anything except plain sugar — round out the flavor without sugar overload)

Modo de preparo

Warren Ellis Chorizo Chilli

Warren Ellis (the British comics writer, not the Australian musician) shared this in his morning newsletter. It's a chilli with personality — multiple cured meats (chorizo + salami collection), roasted-tomato-and-garlic base done at 140°C for 90 minutes, eyeballed spicing, red wine to brighten, a teaspoon of jam to round it out. Eats one bowl; second bowl is better; by the fifth iteration of cooking you have your own version. Excellent freezer dish.

Heat: 3/5. Tunable up or down via spices.

Tame it (drop to heat 2 or 1)

  • Heat 2: halve all chile spices (one organic chile powder instead of two; one good pinch of cayenne instead of two)
  • Heat 1: skip cayenne entirely; use only paprika doce + paprika defumada; skip the chipotle flakes

Sub: bottled chiles only

Replace the variety of chile spices with: 2 tbsp Cepera Chipotle + 1 tbsp Cepera Mexicano + 1 tbsp paprika defumada + 1 tbsp paprika doce. Different from Ellis's variety-pile but still works.

Freezer-kit version

Cooked chilli portions in 500ml containers; up to 3 months. Reheat with a splash of water in a covered pan; finishes in 8 minutes from frozen.

Serving

A bowl. Cornbread or buttered sourdough. Cold beer (a porter or stout works particularly well; or a Mexican lager). Sour cream + grated cheese + sliced jalapeño + chopped coriander on top if you want.

Notes

  • Ellis's wisdom preserved: "The first one will be terrible. You will tweak it and experiment. The third one will be great. By the fifth one, you too will have your own personalised chili recipe to bore the tits off people with."
  • The 90-min low-roast tomato base is the technique that elevates this beyond ordinary chilli. Don't skip — the slow concentration develops sweet, jammy depth that fresh tomatoes can't match.
  • Variety of cured meats matters. This isn't a beef-only chilli. The chorizo gives paprika-oil; salamis give complexity; bacon gives smokiness. If you only use one cured meat, the dish loses its character.
  • Eyeball spices. Ellis is right — cooking by intuition, tasting and adjusting, is what makes this dish yours. Don't measure exactly.
  • The teaspoon of jam-of-character. This is the most Warren Ellis touch. Replaces sugar with something interesting. Smoky onion relish or fig chutney work; even an aged balsamic glaze works.
  • Day-2 is better. Make Friday for Sunday. Day-3 is even better. The cure-meat fats and chile spices marry over time.
  • Variations:
    • Add 1 square of dark chocolate (90% cacao) at step 8 — pushes deeper
    • Add 2 tbsp tomato paste at step 8 if you want it more tomato-forward
    • Serve over rice (chili-and-rice is a thing) or in a baked sweet potato
    • Use pulled cooked beef shin instead of mince for a more substantial chunky version
  • Wine: a porter or stout matches better than wine. If wine: a soft red (Beaujolais, Chianti).
  • Cross-reference: see acem_argentinian-estofado.md for a more refined, Argentine wine-and-paprika beef stew. This is the "ugly delicious" cousin.