Texas Jailhouse Chili, Quesadillas and Pico De Gallo

Sometimes I feel like all my favourite foods either come from the "deep south" of America, or ACTUAL south America. Basically i'm a sucker for anything mex/tex mex/tex and you don't get more deep south than Texas Jailhouse Chili. Apparently back in the 1860's, inmates used to rate prisons on the quality of their chilli and they'd get inundated with letters asking for their recipes, and I prefer the name Texas Jailhouse Chili way more than plain old Chili-con-carne.

The best thing about chili though, is the amount of things you can serve it with. Most people just go for plain rice but I like it best with plain cheese quesadillas and pico de gallo because why the hell not? 

TEXAS JAILHOUSE CHILI

INGREDIENTS:

1 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon chilli powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 large red chilli or jalapeño, chopped

500g minced beef

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon mixed herbs

1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce 

500ml beef stock

1 can chopped tomatoes

- Saute garlic and onion in a large frying pan, add half tablespoon chilli powder and your chilli/jalapeño.

- Add minced beef to the pan with half the cumin and herbs and 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper and brown.

- Add the can of tomatoes, beef stock, worcestershire sauce and the rest of the cumin and herbs and bring to a low simmer, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

- Add the rest of the chilli powder and a little salt to taste and simmer for another 15-30 minutes. (you may need to add a little water)

PICO DE GALLO

INGREDIENTS:

4 large plum tomatoes

1 small onion

a small amount of coriander to taste

2 jalapenos 

Half a lime

- Finely chop the tomatoes, onion and jalapenos. (This is done easiest in a food processor)

- Add coriander and lime juice and mix all ingredients together.

CHEESE QUESADILLAS

INGREDIENTS:

Large Flour Tortillas

Grated Cheese
(you can add loads of things to quesadillas but for accompanying chili, i like to keep them plain)

- Heat a large frying pan and place your tortilla in the pan. There is no need for oil.

- Cover half of the tortilla in grated cheese and fold. 

- Cook for a minute on each side, remove from pan and cut into wedges for serving.