Beef and Bean Chili

I love a warm, cozy bowl of chili.  It's especially satisfying on a cold winter night.  I never seem to make it the same way twice, but yesterday's chili was particularly delicious, so I thought I'd write it down.  My husband Adam prefers white beans, but any type of bean can be used in this recipe.  I find that the key with chili is to season it in layers and then let it cook slowly on the stove so the flavors really develop.  It's helpful to use a high-sided pan with a lid for this recipe.

Makes about 6-8 servings

Ingredients
2 lbs of ground beef (I used 94% lean)
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 8 oz. cans of plain tomato sauce (or 1 15 oz. can)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Smoked paprika
2 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp red chili flakes (optional)
Sea salt
Freshly ground Pepper
1 bottle of dark beer (I used Newcastle)

Over a low to medium flame, soften onion and garlic in olive oil until soft, fragrant and translucent (5-7 minutes), add a couple of shakes of salt and a few grinds of pepper as you're working.  Add ground beef and brown for about 7-8 minutes, add a couple more pinches of salt and a few grinds of pepper to season the beef as it's browning.  Drain any excess fat and liquid from the beef, onion and garlic mixture.

Next, add tomato paste and beer and make sure that tomato paste is distributed throughout the meat, and anything stuck to the bottom of the pan is scraped up.  Let simmer for 2-3 minutes.  Add cumin, smoked paprika and chili power and mix so that spices are evenly distributed throughout the meat.  Let the flavors develop for about 2-3 minutes, then add canned tomato sauce and let simmer over a low flame for 45 minutes to an hour until the chili thickens.  Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

At this point, I turned off the heat and covered the pan with a lid.  I let the chili sit on top of the stove, and when it was time to reheat it for dinner, I loosened it up with a little water (stock would probably work well here) and warmed it over a low flame.

I served the chili in bowls over rice and used fat free Greek yogurt instead of sour cream as a foil for the spice from the chili flakes.