Beef & Plantain Chili

the plantain acts like a slightly sweet starchy potato to give it some body

The girls at Saturday’s gym session always discuss what they ate for dinner the night before.

Which would be fine, except that women tend to get competitive when talking food and it inevitably degenerates into a game of Who Is Making The Worst Dietary Choices.

You’ve probably heard (or even played) this game before. It sounds a little something like this:

“I had the burger and it was delicious.”

“That’s not too bad.”

“Yeah, but I had fries with it and a few beers.”

“Well I ate pizza the night before last.”

“That’s nothing! After my burger I got a piece of cheesecake!”

Usually at this point the instructor chimes in with: “That’s okay ladies, we’ll just do 20 extra squats in the circuit today”

warming and heartening on those quickly darkening nights

This idea of cancelling food out with exercise troubles me because it’s so damn crazy when you think about it.

Exercise isn’t a cure-all. Once something’s ingested by your body, there’s no take-backs. While the effects (whether raising blood pressure, clogging arteries or triggering inflammation) can certainly be mitigated by routinely getting your butt to the gym, it’s not a simple mathematical equation of 1 slice pie + 100 crunches = flat stomach.

This is disordered thinking and it bugs the crap outta me to hear it in my gym.

But I’m not here to rant. I’m here to give you the recipe for this delicious chili (which is 50 sit-ups per bowl 😉 )

Beef & Plantain Chili (serves 3-4)

• 16 oz ground beef
• 1 green plantain, peeled and diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 small white onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp butter or ghee
• 1 1/2 cups chicken (or beef) stock
• 8 oz tomato paste
• 1 generous tsp cumin
• 1 jalapeno, chopped

1. Melt your fat in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, jalapeno, celery and carrot.
2. Gently fry for 5 minutes until the onion softens then add the ground beef, breaking it up with a wooden spoon.
3. Add the cumin and plantain, stir and simmer until the beef browns.
4. Stir in the tomato paste, followed by the stock. Let simmer for 25 minutes then serve. (Tip: If you want it a bit thicker stir in a tbsp of arrowroot.)

Like this? You might also like:

• Fiery Squash Chili
• Stuffed Plantain Dumplings
• Guinness & Sweet Potato Chili