Italian Handcut steak chili

Once again a Rachael Ray recipe I saw her demo on her show--it looked like an interesting change with the flank steak and italian flavorings for a chili--as previously mentioned my crockpots have migrated to my childrens apartments so I did this in a dutch oven at 325 for 3 hours --I wish we had smell-a-blog as this smelled so good and it was hard being in the house with it cooking!!

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1/4 pound pancetta, diced (optional)
2 pounds flank steak or chuck steak, chopped into small dice, then patted dry with paper towels
Salt and pepper
About 1 tablespoon fennel seed (a scant palmful)
2 red cherry chili peppers or red Fresno chili peppers, sliced or seeded and chopped***could not find thiese peppers at a few different stores so went with one red bell and one jalepeno***
1 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
About 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cans cannellini beans or chickpeas (28 ounces), drained
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 cup dry wine, red or white or 1 cup Italian beer
3 cups beef stock

Optional garnishes:
Shredded provolone cheese
Shredded basil
Finely chopped raw onion
Chopped fresh mozzarella cheese
Chopped pepperoncini


Heat the EVOO in a pot over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta, brown to crisp and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

 Season the steak with salt and pepper and add to the pan in batches to brown. I know for me it is always hard to do stuff like this in batches -but  dont rush it or overcrowd --the browning helps seal in the flavors of the meat.

Check out this manual food processor from PC --made quick and easy chopping of the onions and peppers!

Combine the pancetta, steak, fennel seed, peppers, onion, garlic, oregano, beans, tomato paste, wine and stock in a slow cooker crock pot, then close the lid. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. OR in 325 oven covered no peeking or opening oven door for 3 hours

Serve the chili in bowls topped with your choice of garnishes.