Mutterings and Musings

Just add chili

Challenge: What traditional ethnic food dishes from your culture does your family still enjoy? Tell us about how the recipe was passed down and what modifications were made over the years.

Last night I made Shepherd's Pie for the first time in ages - lamb mince topped with mash potato. Normally it's made with peas and diced carrots and onions; but I didn't have any peas and carrots, so I tried with bell pepper, mushrooms, and onions, with a little bit of chili pepper mixed in for good measure. I always, always pour in a good slug of red wine into the gravy and grate some cheese on top before putting it in the oven.
We had the leftovers for dinner tonight, and as is often the case with any mince dish, it tasted much better twenty-four hours later. I think the slight chili twist has cracked it though, I'll definitely do that again.

Another mince recipe I love adding chili peppers to, is lasagna - my cousin and I lived together for a year at uni and chili lasagna became our signature dish.I love veggie lasagna, but I'm not too bother by meat lasagna; however, it's one of Katie's fav dishes, so we ended up eating it a lot. One evening we had leftover chili con carne and in true student fashion threw it in the pan.
Turns out kidney beans and chili peppers, and paprika and chili spice take lasagna to a whole new level.