Mexican Mince (Marguerite Patten)

This is Marguerite Patten’s take on a British-Mexican hybrid: what Americans would call a simple chili con carne, translated for the British kitchen where “mince” means ground beef and the spice cabinet leans modest. A small onion chopped fine, a handful of ground beef browned directly in a dry pan (no oil needed if the meat has enough fat of its own), then canned tomatoes, chili powder, kidney beans, and a spoon of ketchup for a sweet-tangy backbone.

Fifteen minutes of gentle simmering is all the sauce needs to come together. The trick Patten relies on here is dry-frying the beef and onion together from a cold pan on very low heat. It coaxes out the meat’s own fat slowly and builds more flavor than a hot sear for a dish this small. The ketchup might look odd on the ingredient list but it does real work, smoothing out the acidity of the tinned tomatoes and giving the sauce a faintly sweet, cohesive finish.

Kitchen Tips

• Drain both the kidney beans and sweetcorn thoroughly; extra liquid will thin the sauce.
• Taste before serving and adjust the chili powder. British chili powder is often milder than American brands.
• Use good-quality beef stock for the liquid; it makes a real difference in a recipe this short.

Variations

• Swap ground beef for ground lamb for a richer, more mineral flavor.
• Stir in a chopped green bell pepper with the onion for extra color and sweetness.
• Serve over jacket potatoes instead of rice for a British comfort food mash-up.