Adventures in White Chicken Chili
by Paul FischerI’ve made this once and the kids and parents at my daughter’s kindergarten wolfed it down. It got rave reviews. So I’m making it again tonight and realized I didn’t have the recipe codified anywhere for reference. Here then, is the recipe I sent to the moms mailing list (honestly I think I’m the only guy on it). This time I’m using a green salsa with garlic and lime to give it flavor. It’s late in the day and I need to get it in the slow cooker before I collapse.
I started with this recipe from FoodNetwork.com:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/white-chicken-chili-recipe.html
But I altered it to make it kid and slow cooker friendly. Here’s my take on it.
Ingredients
2 (14.5-ounce) cans white beans
1 medium anaheim pepper, minced
1 medium poblano pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped coarse
4 garlic cloves, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 limes, juiced, plus lime wedges, for serving
1 pack skinless boneless chicken thighs
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
Sour cream, for topping
Tortilla chips, coarsely crushed, for topping
Multigrain Scoops Tortilla chips for scooping up the goodness
1 plastic grocery bag, clean, no holes preferred.
Drain and rinse the canned white beans. In a medium bowl, mash half of the beans with a potato masher until chunky. Place into slow cooker with garlic, onion, spices, chicken. Reserve the lime juice for just at the end. Cover and turn on low for 8-10 hours.
Cut the tops off the peppers. Remove the seeds and support/spine things inside the pepper. Turn on your range hood and maybe open the window. Roast the peppers right on your stove top. NOTE: You’re essentially making mildly spicy pepper spray and filling your kitchen with it. If you don’t want watering eyes, make with the ventilation.
Use tongs to turn the peppers as you roast them until they’re completely black on the outside. This takes longer than I ever thought. My major problem with this method is I always chickened out early. Seriously, let them get completely black. This takes 7-9 minutes I think, but it feels like a lifetime to me so I’m not positive on the timing.
When they’re done put them in a plastic grocery bag and tie the handles together. Let bag fill with steam for a 10-20 minutes. Then shake the bag vigorously for 2-3 minutes to remove the skins. Remove peppers from bag. Wash and clean the peppers under running water to remove any remaining skin and seeds. Dice the peppers and put them in the slow cooker and mix up your chili.
When cooking is complete, shred the chicken in the pot with a pair of forks. If this is problematic, remove the chick to a cutting board, shred, and return to pot. Add lime juice salt and pepper to taste, adjust spices as desired.
Serve and enjoy. Let someone else clean, you cooked and you deserve a break.
I leave the onions in large pieces to they can easily be picked out by members of my family who don’t like them. They really add to the taste, so leave them in if you can. No sour cream or cheese for my family because of allergies. I don’t top with tortillas because they get soggy.
References for Roasting Peppers:
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-peel-roasted-peppers-ho-108653
http://www.foodlve.com/food/how-to-roast-chile-peppers
I hope you all enjoy the recipe.