Looking for something different in a homemade chili recipe to serve at your next casual get-together, be it a chili cookoff, dinner with friends, or a Super Bowl party? Then try an unusual twist on the usual red or brown-colored chili recipes.
This unusual light chili features the delicious yet soothing flavors of ground chicken breast, white beans, mild fresh green chilies, and tangy tomatillos, which give it a surprisingly pale white-on-white color.
The ingredients are easy to find in most supermarkets. Great Northern beans are the most widely available type of dried white beans, but you can substitute navy beans or any other white variety you like. Already-ground chicken breast meat is often sold prepackaged nowadays; but you can also ask your butcher to grind boneless, skinless chicken breasts for you to order. Look for canned tomatillos in the Latino foods section of the market or in ethnic markets. Most markets carry mild, long green chilies, often called Anaheim chilies, in the produce section.
Serve the chili with sour cream and shredded Jack cheese on the side, if you like. If you want to keep it light, though, just the cilantro garnish will do fine. (Or, if you feel like the recipe's lightness has earned you a little splurge, serve it with Parmesan Sourdough Toasts.)
Chicken Breast Chili with White Beans
Makes 8 to 10 servings
- 1/2 pound dried Great Northern beans
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 fresh green Anaheim chilies, stemmed, coarsely chopped with seeds
- 2 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken breast
- 5 cups canned chicken broth
- 3/4 pound canned tomatillos, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
Method:
- Pick over the beans to remove any stones or debris; put them in a strainer and rinse under cold running water. Transfer the beans to a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, boil briskly for 5 minutes, and then remove the pan from the heat and leave the beans to soak for 1 hour. Drain and rinse under cold running water and set the beans aside.
- In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chilies, garlic, and onion and sauté until the onion turns translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken and sauté until it is lightly browned, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon to break up the meat, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the drained means, broth, tomatillos, oregano, basil, thyme, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the beans are tender, about 1 hour.
- Spoon out about 1/4 cup of the beans from the pan, transfering them to a bowl. With a sturdy spoon, mash the beans. Stir the mashed beans back into the pan. Continue simmering until the chili is thick, about 30 minutes more.
- Discard the bay leaf. Ladle the chili into individual serving bowls and garnish with cilantro. Serve immediately.
You'll be surprised by how different and how delicious this unusual chili is. (If you yearn for a more conventional type of chili, check out a recipe for old-fashioned Chili Dog Chili. Want a special-occasion beefy chili? Have a look at Steak-Lover's Chili! For an unusual, and unusually delicious, variation on meaty chili with beans, try Lamb and Black Bean Chili.)
