Beef Chilli With Black Beans

Asked by mckee214. Answered on 15th February 2016

Full question

Hi! I want to make the Chilli Beef for a dinner party I'm having but I need to know how hot it is if I follow the recipe exactly! One of the ladies doesn't like food that makes you sweat - so I need to know - does it? Thanks, Kim

Our answer

Nigella's Beef Chilli With Bourbon, Beer and Black Beans has heat that comes from 3 different types of chillies: ancho, jalapeno and dried chilli flakes (red pepper flakes). This combination tends to make the dish on the slightly hotter side, though probably not at a level that causes perspiration. However in the introduction to the recipe Nigella does suggest that the chili quoitent can be reduced to suit individual tastes.

However you could reduce the heat levels by reducing the amounts of chillies. We would suggest leaving the 2 dried ancho chillies as these are very mild and give a smokey, fruity flavour rather than heat. You can remove the seeds and white membrane from the jalapeno chiles and reduce the number of jalapenos to 3 or 2, and also reduce the chile flakes to 1/4 teaspoon. And for those who like heat you can serve the chile with some extra chopped jalapenos to scatter over.