Turkey Chilli

Ingredients

• 500g turkey mince
• 1 x 400g tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 200ml hot chicken stock
• 2 carrots, finely diced
• 1 red pepper, finely diced
• 1 courgette, finely diced
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, grated
• 1.5 tsp mild chilli powder
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 300g basmati rice
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 80g mature Cheddar, grated
• Crusty sourdough bread, to serve
• Dressed green salad, to serve
• Fresh parsley, to serve
• Soured cream, to serve
• Pickled jalapeños, to serve
• Tortilla chips, to serve

Method

1. Pat the turkey mince dry and season generously with salt and pepper — water on the surface means steam, and steam means no browning. Warm a large heavy casserole over medium-high heat with a glug of oil until it shimmers.
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. You want crumbly, golden patches and proper stuck bits on the base — that's flavour. Lift each batch out as it's done.
3. Drop the heat to medium, add the onion, carrots, pepper and courgette with a good pinch of salt, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often, until everything softens and the veg almost melts. The salt pulls moisture out and lifts the fond off the bottom.
4. Stir in the garlic and cook for just 30 seconds until fragrant — don't let it catch and turn pale gold to bitter. Add the chilli powder, cumin, smoked paprika and tomato puree, and bloom them in the oil for another minute until the pan smells toasty and the puree darkens at the edges. Raw spices taste dusty; bloomed spices taste of themselves.
5. Return the turkey to the pan. Tip in the chopped tomatoes, red lentils and hot stock, scraping up every stuck bit from the base — the stock breaks the tomatoes down so they taste of summer fruit, not tin. Simmer gently, lid ajar, for 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce is thick, glossy and deeply red.
6. Stir in the kidney beans and black beans and simmer for another 5 minutes until they're hot through but still holding their shape. Taste, season, taste again — mild chilli still needs proper salt to taste of itself. Adjust now, not at the table.
7. While the chilli finishes, rinse the rice until the water runs clear, then cook in well-salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain well and fluff with a fork.
8. Spoon the rice into shallow bowls and ladle the chilli over. Scatter the grated Cheddar so it melts into the heat, add a cool spoon of soured cream and a few pickled jalapeños on top, and bring the tortilla chips to the table for piling on.