Green Chicken Chili

Passport & Plate - Green Chicken Chili

USA | Friday, March 14, 2014 | 5 photos

Ingredients
Green Salsa
1 glug of olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, smashed and diced
2 jalapeno peppers, diced
2 pablano peppers, diced
6 medium-sized tomatillos, diced
1 fist full of fresh cilantro, chopped

Green Chicken Chili
1 glug of olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, smashed and diced
4-8 ounces of diced jalapenos
Note: This will vary a lot depending on how much heat is desired. If using fresh jalapenos, 1-2 diced. The hotter you want it, the more of the inside membrane that holds the seeds should be added. The seeds themselves are not that hot. Canned jalapenos are labeled for heat.
4 Cans of Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
Note: any white bean can be substituted such as navy or Cannelini.
2 cups of chicken broth
2 Bay leaves
12-16 ounces of green salsa
Cumin to taste
4 pounds of chicken
Note: Sometimes I use leftover roasted chicken or turkey at the holidays, sometimes I pick up a rotisserie chicken from the deli and sometimes I grab chicken breasts out of my freezer.
8-12 ounces of shredded cheese, preferably cheddar, Monterey jack or a combination of the two.

 

How to prepare this recipe
For the Green Salsa:
HEAT olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan on medium-high heat until shimmering.
ADD onions, garlic, jalapeno peppers and pablano peppers. Stir until soft; about 5 minutes.
MIX in tomatillos and cilantro.
COVER and SIMMER for 5 to 7 minutes, until the tomatillos have cooked down.
Optional: at this point, if you prefer your salsa smooth, transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. If you prefer chunky, omit this step.
REMOVE from heat until needed for chili.

For the Green Chicken Chili
PREHEAT your oven to 350° Fahrenheit or 175° Celsius.
PLACE a Dutch oven on medium high heat.
ADD a glug of olive oil and when hot, ADD your diced onion and garlic. STIE continuously and COOK until soft, about 5 minutes.
STIR in the drained beans for 2-3 minutes until hot.
ADD the chicken broth, bay leaves and green salsa; stir.
ADD cumin and chicken, stir well, cover and put in oven.
Bake at 350°F/ 175°C for 60 minutes. If you are using raw chicken, check that your chicken has cooked through. If the chili is too wet, remove the lid and leave in for another 20-30 minutes. If too dry, add more chicken stock and stir.
Before serving, MIX in your shredded cheese, stir until melted.
GARNISH with sour cream, more shredded cheese, chopped cilantro, corn bread, tortilla chips or anything else that seems right.

 

The story behind this recipe
This recipe is not a family heirloom nor a wildly amazing souvenir from one of the countries I've lived or traveled in. It is, however, the best way to bolster any Minnesotan living through TWO Polar Vortexes (and counting). What it lacks in sophistication and elegance it makes up for in versatility and comfort.

I grew up in a solidly Mid-western. My mother's cooking, while not at all terrible, was also solidly Mid-western. If my childhood were a cookbook and you removed all the recipes calling for condensed soup, you'd be left with a healthy helping of meaty cheese dishes and cheesy meat dishes. As a heavy smoker, she had also lost taste buds and had a knack for adding very large amounts of pepper or powdered sage to, well, everything. And, in the unlucky chapter devoted to my father's cooking, you'd find instructions on how to burn liver and create pasta sauce with home-canned, stewed tomatoes, hot dogs and Mrs. Dash.

My older brother, however, went to chef school and from him I started to learn a thing or two about flavor, texture and variety. I spent my 20s living and traveling abroad where I began to see what the world could offer.

While I was a volunteer English teacher with the US Peace Corps in Poland I often had a lot of time to myself and access to a literal cornucopia of fresh ingredients. Every Friday I would bring home a large basket of produce from the village market and transform it into something edible. Sometimes great, sometimes not so much. I learned by experimenting and failing. Now I look at recipes a starting point.

Like all the best recipes, this exists better in my mind than on paper. As something I've been making for years, I'm sure where I started with it and what it has become are two very different things. My inspirations are America's Test Kitchen and Jamie Oliver. One tells me with practiced precision what works with what and when. The other encourages me to put down the measuring cup and tear things with my hands.