Roasted potatoes with chili con carne

Today we welcome a new collaborator! This is Carmen, author of the blog Tía Alia, who brings us some delicious baked potatoes with an ideal accompaniment: chili con carne. Thank you very much for the recipe Carmen, let's get to it!

Many years ago I discovered baked potatoes as a standalone dish and I fell in love with them instantly. It happened during a year as a student in the United Kingdom, where they are known as “jacket potatoes” and are served with all kinds of toppings: cheese, tuna with mayonnaise, Bolognese sauce, bacon and sour cream and, of course, chili con carne. Back then my student finances didn't allow any excess, but whenever I could I would go to the local pub to enjoy such a tasty bite.

Years later baked potatoes still drive me crazy. I make them often, especially at dinner time, because they're very convenient since they require no supervision and you can get on with other tasks while they roast. As if that weren't easy enough, the job is made even simpler with the asador de patatas para horno o barbacoa de Nordic Ware that speeds up roasting and makes handling the potatoes quick and comfortable.

I haven't used it on the barbecue but in the oven, though it's a matter of trying it when the good weather starts and we give ourselves over to the noble pleasure of grilling. I just think of “anything” with baked potatoes on the side and I start to salivate. Bring on the good weather already!

Asador de patatas Nordic Ware, bamboo cutting board Zwilling, Pallarès carbon steel knife, Trilloliva olive oil and Le Creuset ceramic ramekins.

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

For the chili con carne:

• 250gr ground beef
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 star anise
• 1/2 jalapeño chili
• 2 tablespoons crushed tomato
• 200ml red wine
• 200ml beef stock
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 200gr cooked beans
• Salt
• Trilloliva extra virgin olive oil

For the baked potatoes:

• 4 large potatoes (about 200gr each)
• Trilloliva extra virgin olive oil
• 20gr butter
• Grated cheese, jalapeños, sour cream, etc.

B De Buyer mineral iron frying pan, bamboo cutting board Zwilling, Le Creuset ceramic ramekins and Star Wave porcelain bowl by Tokyo Design Studio.

Preparation

1. We heat a little of our oil in a pan, add the ground meat and season. We cook over high heat, stirring to break up the meat so it stays loose. When it's well browned we remove it to a plate along with the juices it released.
2. We peel the onion, carrot and garlic cloves. On a board and with a knife well sharpened, we cut all the vegetables into brunoise, that is, into small pieces.
3. We add oil to the pan again and sweat the vegetables, together with the star anise, over very low heat for about 10 minutes or until tender and the onion is lightly browned.
4. We finely chop the jalapeño chili, discarding the seeds and stem, and add it to the pan together with the crushed tomato. We raise the heat slightly and fry for 5 minutes. We remove and discard the star anise.
5. Next we add the red wine and let it reduce completely. Then we add the meat back to the pan along with the stock, cumin, paprika and ketchup. We cover and cook over low heat for 1 hour, adding the beans 10 minutes before the end.
6. Meanwhile we prepare the baked potatoes. We start by preheating the oven to 220ºC with top and bottom heat, washing the potatoes well (because we're going to eat them with the skin) and brushing them with extra virgin olive oil.
7. We place the potatoes in the potato roaster, piercing each one on the protrusions the utensil has for that purpose. We put it in the top part of the oven and roast for 20 minutes. We lower the temperature to 190º and roast for 45 more minutes or until the potato skin is crispy and the inside tender.
8. When the potatoes are ready we remove them from the roaster and turn them over, leaving the incision side on top. We open them slightly and place a cube of butter inside each one and top with the chili con carne.
9. Finally we sprinkle with grated cheese and garnish with jalapeños, beans, sour cream or whatever we like best.

Asador de patatas Nordic Ware, bamboo cutting board Zwilling, Pallarès carbon steel knife and Le Creuset ceramic ramekins.