White chili

Two posts in a row!  And both with chili as a theme.  I'm on a roll.  Actually, I just really like chili.  I've made just about every kind of chili: Cincinnati style, traditional Texas, all bean chili, mushroom and bean chili, "Julie" chili (mix of stew and ground meat and it has beans too), and now white chili.  I even entered my Julie chili in a local chili-cookoff, but sadly, I didn't place.  There's always next year!

Today's chili post is about the white chili.  It's called white because it's typically made with chicken or turkey and does not contain tomatoes or (much) chili powder.  I went through some different recipes and finally decided to make this one as my starting point, changing things up, of course.  The great thing about white chili, and all chili really, is that you can make it hearty and flavorful without it being full of fat and calories.

Ingredients:

 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 stalks celery, diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 large poblano peppers, diced (if they are especially spicy, you may want to seed them. Mine were not)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more to taste
1 pound ground white meat turkey (I used 93% lean)
2 (15.5-ounce) cans white beans such as cannelini, preferably low-sodium, drained and rinsed (also called white kidney beans)
1 small can of green salsa (salsa verde, medium heat)
1 small can of diced green chiles (I used mild, but this is your preference)
2-4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (see below)
1 teaspoon dried oregano (use Mexican if you can)
Kosher salt 

Optional toppings:
1/4 cup nonfat plain Greek-style yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Lime wedges
Reduced fat shredded Mexican cheese blend
Baked tortilla chips

This recipe has a great deal of flexibility to it.  If you can plan ahead and buy all of the ingredients the night before, you can simply throw everything (except the beans) in the crockpot in the morning and let them cook 7-8 hours.  You would then add the beans in the last hour or two of cooking.  If you go this route, your turkey will be incredibly soft and completely fallen apart, kind of like a ragout.  If you prefer a meatier version, brown your ground turkey on the stove top first before adding it to the crock pot.  If you are going the crock pot route, I would start out with 1-2 cups of chicken broth when you throw everything in the crock pot.  Crock pots don't need a lot of liquid to cook, and it won't evaporate during the day.  You can always add more liquid later but it's more of a pain to add too much early on and then try to get it to evaporate.**

Alternatively, you can make this whole thing on the stove in about an hour.  First add about a tablespoon of olive or canola oil to a dutch oven or other soup pot over medium heat.  Brown your ground turkey and remove it from the pot.  If necessary, add another tablespoon of oil. Add the celery and onions and cook until they are starting to get translucent, around 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and poblano peppers and cook another 5 minutes. Then dump your ground turkey back in, along with your cumin, coriander, green salsa, oregano, and chicken broth.  Again, start out with 1-2 cups of chicken broth, only adding more if needed.  In the last 15 or so minutes, dump in your beans.  Then add cayenne and salt to taste.  (Note: if you use low sodium or homemade chicken broth, chances are that you will have to add a surprising amount of kosher salt at this point for it to get up to the proper taste. Or maybe that's just me). I also like to add more of the other spices at this point to brighten the flavors.  Once it's all come together, the veggies are cooked, and it's at the right consistency, ladle into bowls and serve with whichever optional toppings above float your boat.

**One trick with chili that I learned from Alton Brown is that you can crush some tortilla chips up into the chili to thicken it somewhat.  Or you can use masa harina, but I know that I certainly don't have that hanging around my kitchen.

White chili with cheese on it.