Chilli con carne macaroni melt

I am honestly obsessed with this dish. If chilli con carne, pasta bake and macaroni cheese all went in one pot, then this would be the result. There’s no need to brown the mince, just chuck everything in and go, perfect if you are out all day or want to get ahead during a busy time. You can make this veggie by replacing the beef with Quorn mince, or using lentils and extra veg instead.

Serves: 5
Equipment: Slow cooker

INGREDIENTS

• 400g lean beef mince
• 700g passata
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 3 garlic cloves, grated or chopped
• Handful of fresh coriander, chopped, plus extra to garnish
• 1 red chilli, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 packet of chilli con carne spice mix (or you can make your own)
• 700ml chicken stock
• 400g tin of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 250g dried macaroni
• 120g Cheddar cheese (get reduced-fat if you can), grated
• salt and pepper, to taste

METHOD

1. Add the beef mince, passata, tomato purée, garlic, half the coriander, the chilli, onion, chilli con carne spice mix and salt and pepper to the slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 7–8 hours.

2. Add the stock, kidney beans, red pepper and macaroni and cook on high for a further 45 minutes. If cooking on low, you’ll need to leave it for closer to 1 hour to cook the pasta.

3. Stir through half the Cheddar into the dish, top with the remainder, then garnish with the remaining coriander. Absolutely stunning.

Tip: To make your own chilli con carne spice mix, use a teaspoon each of ground cumin, paprika, ground cinnamon and chilli powder.