2012 Cooking Club Week 24 - Green Chilli & Navajo Flatbreads

MODS: I have no idea why the pics are so huge, feel free to resize!


So, green chilli makes a really nice change to the usual "red" chilli that people often assume is pretty much the only chilli going. This is also a ridiculously easy dish to make, and the flavour-to-effort payoff is astronomical. I've included the flatbreads as they're actually really simple to make, but feel free to just use store-bought flour or corn tortillas if you're feeling really lazy - it's the chilli that's the star of the show here.

We'll start with the bread, cause it's the more time-consuming of the two.

Navajo Flatbreads - makes about 10

600g strong white bread flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp baking powder
6 tbsp olive oil
c. 300ml warm water



1. Place all your dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the olive oil and about half the water.



2. Mix with a fork, bringing the flour in from the edges of the bowl and adding the water a little at a time until you have a nice ball of dough. Use your judgement with the water - you don't have to use all of it. Once the dough has come together (it shouldn't be too wet/sticky), flour a clean work surface, turn the dough out onto it and knead until smooth & elastic - about ten minutes.

3. Clean and oil your bowl, then place the dough back into it, turning to coat completely with the oil. Cover with clingfilm and leave to prove for an hour or so. (For the sake of clarity, I'm going to do the whole recipe in one go, but this hour is the perfect time to make your chilli!)



3. When you're ready to roll out your flatbreads, knock the dough back and knead it again very lightly - literally for about two minutes. Divide into ten equal balls and roll out to the thickness of about a euro coin. Don't worry about getting them perfectly round, part of the charm of these is their rustic-ness. You can roll them all out in advance and stack them with flour-dusted sheets of tinfoil between them.



4. Preheat a heavy frying or griddle pan (or better yet, do them on the barbie!). Cook the flatbreads until bubbles start to form on the top, then flip and do the other side. Keep warm in a low oven until your chilli is ready to serve.


Green Chilli - serves 4

1kg lean pork mince
2 large onions
2 green peppers
6 small green chillies
4 fat cloves garlic
1 tbsp dried sage or oregano
4 large tomatoes
Juice of 1 lime
Salt & pepper
Olive oil
Large bunch fresh coriander
Small bunch fresh mint
1 romaine lettuce
Bunch of spring onions
Yoghurt or sour cream to serve



1. Dice your peppers, onions, chillies & garlic and have them ready to go in a large bowl. I leave the seeds & membranes in the chillies, but if you have a tamer palate, remove them before dicing.



2. Heat a splash of oil in a large pot & brown the pork until no pink remains. If your meat is good-quality, it shouldn't need draining, but if it has rendered a lot of fat, drain the excess. Add your diced veg and the sage/oregano and cook on a high heat for ten minutes or so until any water from the veg has been driven off.

3. While this is happening, deseed and roughly dice your tomatoes. Add them to the pot with about a half a glass of water and plenty of salt & pepper. Turn the heat down slightly and let everything simmer away nicely for another 15 or 20 minutes - this chilli is supposed to be quite dry (in a good way!) as opposed to stewy, so again, you want most of the moisture to cook off.

4. When the chilli is almost ready to serve, stir in the lime juice, coriander and mint. Taste and adjust the seasoning - it will likely need more salt and maybe a pinch more sage/oregano. Turn the heat off, but leave the pot on the warm ring.

5. Wash and dry your lettuce and spring onions, then roughly chop them. Fold four of your flatbreads into quarters and pop into four bowls. Ladle over a generous portion of chilli, then scatter over the chopped lettuce & spring onions. Serve with the remaining flatbreads, the yoghurt/sour cream and any remaning salad. Enjoy!