Celebrity chef Adrian Richardson joined Peter Fegan on 4BC Breakfast to chat footy finals feasts and the Suckling Pig Feast at Bos Brisbane on October 19.

Chilli Beef Ragù with Cornbread Topping

When I lived in Canada, Monday night was football night. My mates and I used to settle down to watch the game with a big bowl of chilli beef and plenty of cold beers. A word of warning: I like my chilli hot! Feel free to reduce the quantity of dried and fresh chillies to your degree of tolerance.

Ingredients

• 1 kg chuck, blade, or rump steak, cut into 2 cm dice
• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon dried chillies
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, dry-roasted and ground
• ½ tablespoon coriander seeds, dry-roasted and ground
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 4 red capsicums
• 2 onions, finely diced
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 10 long red chillies, thinly sliced
• 1 litre tomato passata
• 2 cups beef or chicken stock
• ½ cup red wine
• 1 cup basil leaves
• 1 cup coriander leaves

Cornbread Topping

• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 1 cup fine polenta
• 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 300 g cooked corn kernels

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Place the diced beef into a large mixing bowl with the spices, salt, and pepper and toss well so it is all evenly coated.
2. Heat half the oil in a large, heavy-based casserole over medium heat. When the oil is hot, brown the beef in batches, so that the heat stays high. Transfer the browned beef to a plate.
3. Halve the capsicums lengthwise and rub them all over with a little more of the olive oil. Grill, skin-side up, until black and charred. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. When cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and slice away the seeds and pith. Chop roughly and place in a processor. Blitz on high to form a rough purée.
4. Add the rest of the oil to the casserole and lower the heat. Add the onion, garlic, and chillies and sauté gently for 5 minutes, or until the onion starts to soften. Return the beef to the casserole and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomato passata, puréed capsicum, stock, and wine and bring to the boil. Transfer the casserole to the oven, and cook, covered, for 2 hours. The ragù can be prepared to this stage ahead of time.
5. When ready to eat, preheat the oven to 200°C. Stir the fresh basil and coriander into the ragù and pour it into a large gratin dish.
6. To make the cornbread topping, combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together the milk, eggs, oil, and corn in a separate bowl, then stir into the dry ingredients to make a thick yellow batter.
7. Spread the batter over the chilli beef and bake for 30 minutes until the topping is risen and golden and the chilli beef underneath is bubbling.

Serves 4

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