How to make lamb chili

Pearl Jam was an amazing show. Turns out it was the last show of a nearly two year world tour which we actually witnessed the start of when we were working at Bonnaroo in 2008. Coincidentally enough it was at this performance where we first became inspired to plan our trip to New Zealand. We enjoyed getting to see our friends from Nelson, you can see some pictures if you head over to flickr.
The next morning we left Christchurch and headed to a holiday home in Hanmer Springs. Christchurch was cold when we left and it was cold and rainy by the time we arrived in Hanmer Springs. We had a fireplace at the cabin and a lamb backstrap in the car and we decided that this was the perfect time to make chili. If you want to recreate this experience at home, here’s our recipe for kiwi-style lamb chili (which we came up with ourselves).

1 lamb backstrap (if you don’t have lamb backstrap you could substitute another lean meat, like venison backstrap or beef sirloin)
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of tomatoes with chiles (1 can of crushed tomatoes/5 fresh tomatoes soaked with basil and cayenne pepper)
1 small or 1/2 large red capsicum (that’s bell pepper to you folks back home)
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 diced sweet onion
2 cloves of chopped garlic
some dashes of Garam Masala seasoning (all-spice and chili powder will probably do ya)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp butter
1/4 red wine
1/3 cup finely grated vintage cheddar cheese

Cut your lamb into fairly large (but still bite-size) pieces. Add salt and pepper. Dice onion, capsicum, and cilantro. Heat a sauté pan or skillet to medium high heat. Prime your skillet with about a tablespoon of butter. Add the onion and garlic then cook until moist and fragrant. Add the lamb to the skillet and sear until it’s fully browned on the outside, but still rare. Halfway through this process add the capsicum and cilantro. Put the skillet with lamb, onion, garlic, capsicum, and cilantro aside to rest.
In a large stock pot, heat up the diced tomatoes. Add two cups of water, kidney beans, the spices and the wine to the tomatoes. Bring to a low simmer. At this point, combine the lamb mixture with the tomato. Cover and simmer slowly for one hour. Uncover and continue to simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until reduced to your liking.
Serve and garnish with cheddar cheese to taste.

This chili was delicious and warming on a cold rainy day next to the fire. It was fun to eat such an American tradition with a different spin on it. “I loved it and I usually don’t even like chili!” -Lillian “Mom, I know you like yours extra hot so I would suggest adding one finely chopped jalepeno as well at the same stage as the capsicum and cilantro. Maybe Jon should sit that one out though.”-Matt