One of My Favourite Things to Make in the Slow Cooker as of

• total time: 7 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

125g / 4.5oz finely diced Smoked Bacon Lardons

2 Peppers, finely diced (1 red 1 green)

1 medium White Onion, finely diced

1 stalk Celery, finely diced

3 cloves Garlic, finely diced

500g / 1lb lean Ground/Minced Beef (5%)

1x 400g/14oz can Crushed Tomatoes

1x 400g/14oz can Kidney Beans, rinsed & drained

3 tbsp Tomato Paste

1x Beef Oxo/Bouillon Cube, crumbled

2 tbsp Cajun Seasoning*

1 tsp Smoked Paprika

1/4 tsp EACH: Salt, Black Pepper, plus more as needed

400g / 14oz Baby Potatoes, or as needed to cover the filling

150g / 1 1/2 cup Cheddar

Sour Cream (optional)

Directions

Add bacon to a large pan then turn the heat to medium. Gently fry until crisp with the fat rendered down, then add to a 3.5L slow cooker, leaving excess fat in the pan.

Raise heat to medium-high then add the peppers, onion, celery & garlic. Fry until it all softens & starts to colour. This step is important not only to develop flavour, but also to sweat out the moisture so the filling doesn't come out watery. Add beef & fry until browned, breaking up with your wooden spoon as you go. Add to the slow cooker.

Stir in crushed tomatoes, kidney beans, tomato paste, Oxo cube, Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika and 1/4tsp S&P. Use your wooden spoon to level the top. Slice the baby potatoes to around 1/4" thick then lay the slices over the filling, working from the outside in, overlapping as you go. Generously season with S&P, then pop the lid on & cook on HIGH for 3 1/2 hours or LOW for 7 hours, or until the potatoes are very tender.

Remove lid, cover with cheese then add the lid back on for 5 or so mins until the cheese melts. If there's a considerable amount of water on the potatoes before you add the cheese, you can gently dab them with kitchen roll/paper towel to remove some. If it's just oil I typically leave it there as it's flavour. Serve with sour cream if desired then tuck in!

Different brands will be spicier than others. It should have a nice kick, but nothing overbearing. If you find it spicy I recommend serving with sour cream to sooth out the spice.