Smoky Beef Taco Mince

Ingredients

• 750 g beef mince, 15–20% fat
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 400 g tin black beans, drained and rinsed
• corn or flour tortillas, to serve
• 1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
• 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• soured cream, shredded lettuce, sliced jalapeños, grated cheddar, to serve
• 2 medium onions, finely diced
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp chipotle paste
• 200 g tin sweetcorn, drained
• 1 lime, juiced

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wide casserole over a high heat. Season the mince generously with salt and pepper before it hits the pan — this is your one chance to season the meat itself.
2. Brown the mince in two batches. All at once and the pan crowds, water comes out, and you've boiled the meat instead of browning it. Cook each batch for 6–8 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon and leaving it to sit and catch — you want deep mahogany colour and crispy bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, because that fond is the backbone of the sauce. Return all the mince to the pan once browned.
3. Push the beef to one side. Add the onions and red pepper to the empty side and cook for 3–4 minutes until softened and picking up colour at the edges. Stir everything together, then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Don't let it burn — burnt garlic turns the whole dish bitter.
4. Scatter in the cumin, smoked paprika, ground coriander, garlic powder and dried oregano. Bloom the spices in the hot oil for 60 seconds, stirring constantly, until they smell deeply fragrant and cling to the meat. Raw spices taste dusty; bloomed spices taste of themselves.
5. Stir in the chipotle paste and tomato purée. Press them against the hot pan for a full minute so they caramelise and darken a shade — this is where the smoky depth comes from.
6. Pour in the chopped tomatoes along with a splash of water — the liquid lifts the fond off the bottom and breaks the tomatoes down so they taste of fruit, not tin. Bring to a steady simmer and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is glossy and thick and the mince is no longer swimming.
7. Tip in the black beans and sweetcorn. Stir through and cook for 4–5 minutes until heated through and the beans have soaked up the smoky sauce.
8. Off the heat, stir in the lime juice. Taste, season, taste again — adjust the salt now, not at the table. The lime and salt together are what make it pop.
9. Pile the smoky mince into warm tortillas at the table with soured cream, shredded iceberg, pickled jalapeños, a heavy hand of grated cheddar, a scatter of fresh coriander leaves and lime wedges for squeezing.