White Chicken Chili

When we first moved to Oregon from California, this time of year would make me a little depressed. By May, in California the rain has ceased except for on very rare occasions. I have since learned to appreciate this time of year here. You see, I LOVE comfort food and what better excuse to make comfort food than a stretch of grey, rainy days.

After a glorious weekend filled with sunshine and even an 80+ degree day thrown in the mix, it is back to drizzle here so I decided to pull out one of my favorite hearty and healthy recipes.

I created this recipe after not being able to find one with the mix of savory, smoky, and spicy I was looking for. Served with a thick slice of corn bread, it is the perfect stick to your ribs comfort meal.

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 T oil (vegetable, canola, safflower, sunflower, avocado, and olive all work)

1 onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced (I wear disposable gloves when cutting jalapenos.  The oils stay on your hands even if you wash them which can be annoying if not painful and dangerous should you rub your eyes after cutting them.  Disposable gloves keeps the oils off your skin.)

1 poblano pepper, seeded and diced

2 stalks of celery, thinly sliced

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 1/2 T ground coriander

1 1/2 T ground cumin

Dash of cayenne pepper

3 C Quick & Easy Chicken Broth

1 25oz can hominy, drained and rinsed

2 cans reduced-sodium white beans such as cannellini or navy, drained and rinsed (You can also use 3 1/2 cups cooked dry white beans)

Approximately 1 pound of cooked chicken (I almost always use the shredded chicken left over from making Quick & Easy Chicken Broth. You can also use left-over roasted chicken or store-bought rotisserie chicken.  One thing to beware of with store-bought rotisserie chicken is that it tends to be saltier so you should taste the chili before adding additional salt to the recipe.  I have also used ground chicken or ground turkey in a pinch.  Just brown it prior to cooking the vegetables, remove it from the pot to drain while you cook everything else and then add it back at the end.)

2 t salt or more to taste

Heat your oil of choice in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, poblano, and celery and cook until they are soft but not mushy. 

 

Reduce heat to medium.  Add the garlic, cumin, coriander, and cayenne and cook an additional minute.  Add the chicken broth, hominy, white beans, chicken and 1 teaspoon of salt.  Cook for 20 to 30 minutes until everything is warmed through and the flavors have melded together.  Taste and add additional salt as needed.

As with a lot of my recipes, I often make a double batch of this. It freezes well so you can get two meals for little additional effort.

Serve with any combination of the following condiments: Chopped fresh cilantro, sour cream, lime wedges, and shredded Monterey jack cheese.