Thursday, December 6, 2007

White Chile

I had such a nice response from the chicken and dumplings that I thought I'd share another recipe (actually our dinner this evening).

We have always loved spicy foods, and have found that taste intensified since we've been traveling in New Mexico. The official state question (REALLY) is red or green? For both Terry and I the answer is always green.

In looking for new things to do with green chili, I came across several recipes for white chili, which I had never heard of. In looking through them, I decided to take a little from each one and make my own.

I started with 2 large onions and 12 large garlic cloves all finely chopped. Now you don't need to use this much, but I like this as a base for soups and stews. That said, you may like to use a bit less. I then covered the bottom of a fair sized stock pot with oil and cooked the onions and garlic over low heat till they were nice and soft, but not brown, about ten minutes.

While this mixture was cooking, I diced up three chicken breasts. I prefer the cubes to be 1/2 to 3/4 inches square, but you can make them whatever size pleases you.

After the onions and garlic were soft, I added a box of chicken stock, a couple of small cans of chopped green chili, and half a container of frozen green chili (this tends to be a bit warmer than the canned chili). I then added the cut up chicken, a lot of cumin, a bit of oregano, a pretty healthy hit of cayenne pepper, about ten shakes of Slap Ya Mama and a very generous splash of Cholula hot sauce (probably fifteen shakes).

All these spices are pretty personal, I tend to just throw in what I think it needs, taste and then add more if needed. We like our food very spicy but not necessarily hot, so keep that in mind as you read these recipes.

After all this was in the pot, I brought the whole mixture to a boil for about ten minutes, then I threw in three cans of white beans. I used the juice in one of the cans, but just the beans from the other two, reserving the extra juice just in case I needed it later (I didn't).

I let this all simmer for about twenty to thirty minutes, then took a taste for seasoning. At this point I added about a cup of sour cream (yogurt would also work fine). I often do this to add a bit of smoothness to my soups and stews. I recommend you try it to see if you like it.

When this was all done, we had a lovely white chili, kind of like the red chili we make in California but with a decidedly green touch. Some neighbors stopped by and when they got in the door, asked, "Are you making Green Chili Stew"? I gave them a bowl and we all agreed this was a great recipe.

If you're interested, the ingredients are below.

2 large onions, finely chopped
12 cloves garlic, finely chopped,
3 to 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts (you could also use leftover or canned chicken)
1 box chicken broth
2 small cans chopped green chili (mild)
small container frozen green chili (mild or medium)
4 tblsp ground cumin
1 tblsp oregano
2 tsp cayenne pepper
generous hit of Slap Ya Mama
15-20 shakes Cholula Hot Sauce
3 or 4 cans small white beans ( I like canellinis)
1 to 2 cups sour cream or yogurt

If you try this and like it, let me know!

We've been enjoying the cranes and lovely weather (is it really December?), visiting museums, and cooking a LOT.

Life is good

1 comment:

photowannabe said...

Ummmmm this sounds so good. I think I'll have to try it.