Some years back I signed up (online) for Cook’s Illustrated’s weekly email newsletter. I’ve made plenty of recipes from reading those newsletters. This last week I made yet another. It wasn’t a new recipe – – they recycle them, and this one was from 2007. In the blurb about it, they said that so often white chicken chili ends up being kind of insipid, totally lacking in flavor, so the innovative chefs in their kitchens decided to do something about it.
In the write-up, they headed this part with Why This Recipe Works: (I’m paraphrasing here) you (1) puree some of the beans with the flavor-providing green chile/onion mixture (to give the soup more substantive texture); (2) brown, poach and shred or cube up the quickly-cooked chicken to add in later (so it doesn’t get dry or rubbery); and (3) use a variety of three chiles – poblano, Anaheim and jalapeno.
Now, they used chicken breasts, skin on, cooked it, then cooled it, removed the skin and shredded it. I had defrosted boneless skinless chicken thighs, and I had some white meat chicken in the freezer (cooked), so I combined them both. I used the same techniques, but cooked the chicken thighs a bit longer, that’s all. Meanwhile you combine a couple raw yellow onions and all the green chiles in a food processor. That gets whizzed up in the food processor – not to a puree – it needs more texture than that, but not much. Then everything is simmered for awhile with some chicken broth, garlic, cumin, ground coriander. I cubed up the chicken thighs in bite-sized pieces and it simmered for about 30 minutes. The already cooked chicken I had was added in just long enough to heat it through. Some of the cannellini beans were pureed with the onion/pepper mixture; the rest of them were added in during the 30-minute simmering portion. You add in some fresh lime juice at the end, and I garnished the chili with cilantro, minced radishes, some red bell pepper and some minced green onion. Those were my additions. The recipe includes cilantro and onion, but they stirred those into the soup just before serving. I wanted more crunch, so that’s why I included the radishes and red bell pepper and added all of those things as a garnish. The 2nd time I served this I crumbled up some tortilla chips on top too – that gave it lots of crunch. And I added a big mound of thinly sliced Romaine lettuce.
What I liked: the mellow chiles; there are a lot of chiles in this recipe and you might think it would be hot, but it wasn’t. Now, I did use just 2 jalapenos, and I think that was enough. If you want more heat, add a 3rd one. I also liked the crunch of the garnishes, but that’s totally up to you. I really liked the flavor. It’s also quite low in calories and fat.
What I didn’t like: well, I whizzed up the chiles and onions too much. You want it to be chunky like salsa – I pulsed that food processor a few times too many. I’d have liked a bit more texture in the chili part. Just keep that in mind.
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Chicken Chili
Recipe By: From Cook’s Illustrated online, Jan. 2007
Serving Size: 8
NOTES: Adjust up the heat in this dish by adding the minced ribs and seeds from the jalapeño as directed in step 6. If Anaheim chiles cannot be found, add an additional poblano and jalapeño to the chili. This dish can also be successfully made by substituting chicken thighs for the chicken breasts. If using thighs, increase the cooking time in step 4 to about 40 minutes. Serve chili with sour cream, tortilla chips, and lime wedges. [My additions: diced fresh radish and red bell pepper.]
3 pounds chicken breast halves — with skin & bones, trimmed of excess fat
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium jalapeño chiles
3 whole poblano peppers — stemmed, seeded, and cut into large pieces
3 whole Anaheim chili peppers — stemmed, seeded, and cut into large pieces
2 medium onions — cut into large pieces (2 cups)
6 cloves garlic — minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
29 ounces canned cannelini beans — (2 – 14.5-ounce) drained and rinsed
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice — (from 2 to 3 limes)
1/4 cup cilantro — minced fresh
4 whole scallions — white and light green parts sliced thin
Additional garnishes: diced radishes, red bell pepper, tortilla chips
1. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving until skin is golden brown, about 4 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken and lightly brown on other side, about 2 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate; remove and discard skin.
2. While chicken is browning, remove and discard ribs and seeds from 2 jalapeños; mince flesh. In food processor, process half of poblano chiles, Anaheim chiles, and onions until consistency of chunky salsa, ten to twelve 1-second pulses, scraping down sides of workbowl halfway through. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Repeat with remaining poblano chiles, Anaheim chiles, and onions; combine with first batch (do not wash food processor blade or workbowl).
3. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from Dutch oven (adding additional vegetable oil if necessary) and reduce heat to medium. Add minced jalapeños, chile-onion mixture, garlic, cumin, coriander, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, about 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat.
4. Transfer 1 cup cooked vegetable mixture to now-empty food processor workbowl. Add 1 cup beans and 1 cup broth and process until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add vegetable-bean mixture, remaining 2 cups broth, and chicken breasts to Dutch oven and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until chicken registers 160 degrees (175 degrees if using thighs) on instant-read thermometer, 15 to 20 minutes (40 minutes if using thighs).
5. Using tongs, transfer chicken to large plate. Stir in remaining beans and continue to simmer, uncovered, until beans are heated through and chili has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.
6. Mince remaining jalapeño, reserving and mincing ribs and seeds (see note above), and set aside. When cool enough to handle, shred chicken into bite-sized pieces, discarding bones. Stir shredded chicken, lime juice, cilantro, scallions, and remaining minced jalapeño (with seeds if desired) into chili and return to simmer. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and serve.
Per Serving: 383 Calories; 16g Fat (36.2% calories from fat); 38g Protein; 25g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 87mg Cholesterol; 323mg Sodium.
Toffeeapple
said on January 5th, 2012:
You can’t get named varieties of chilli here, at least not where I live. We are offered ‘medium’ or ‘hot’. That’s it. Unless you can grow your own.
Well, try what you can get and see if you like it. If it’s not spicy enough, use some of the medium and one of the hot, or vice versa. Or use the mild to medium ones and just add some chili powder to taste. . . carolyn t