John's chilli con carne

• olive oil↗80ml ml
• large onions↗2

  roughly chopped

• large dried ancho chillies↗2

  (buy from Waitrose or ocado.com)

• dried cascabel chillies↗3

  (buy from Waitrose or ocado.com)

• smoked paprika↗2 tsp tsp
• dried thyme↗2 tsp tsp
• celery sticks↗3

  finely chopped

• beef stock cube↗1
• beef↗1.5kg kg

  shin, boneless and cut into large chunks

• plain flour↗1 tbsp tbsp
• carrots↗3

  trimmed, left whole

• maple syrup↗50ml ml
• chopped tomatoes1can can
• bottle dark beer↗500ml ml
• fresh beef stock↗500ml ml
• corianderfresh

  sprigs, to serve

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/ gas 3. Heat a large cast-iron pot or saucepan over a high flame, pour in the oil, then drop in the onions, chillies, paprika and thyme. Cook for 5 mins until the onions soften. Add the celery, give it a stir and crumble in the stock cube. Stir again and cook for another 5 mins

2. 2

   Add the beef, stir well, then colour for a few mins to coat the meat with the spices. Add the flour and coat everything with a more few stirs, then add the remaining ingredients, along with 1 tsp salt.

3. 3

   Let it come to the boil, then put a lid on, place in the oven, reduce the temperature to 140C/120C fan/ gas 1 and cook for 4 1 /2 hrs.

4. 4

   Take the pot out of the oven and remove the carrots, chop them into small chunks, then put them back in. I like plenty of sauce, but you may want to remove some if you don’t want it too saucy – be sure to keep it, it’s great on toast when cold. Remember to remove the chillies before you serve. Finally, scatter with coriander, if you like