White Chicken Chili

I mentioned in my first post about chili that my it was one of the first real dishes I ever learned how to make, from start to finish. This white version, though, is a far cry from the traditional Texas bowl of red. It’s lighter and healthier, but still full of flavor. Unlike red chili (or white chili’s close cousin, chicken tortilla soup) the dish contains no tomatoes in any form. And instead of ground beef or cubed chuck, chicken pieces are browned and then simmered, on the bone, in a light broth laced with garlic, cumin and chili powder, along with onion, bell pepper and two kinds of fresh chiles. Once cooked, the chicken pieces (I used a mix of white and dark meat) are shredded and returned to the pot, along with a generous splash of lime juice. Feel free to go wild with the garnishes…I used chopped cilantro, sliced green onions, crushed tortilla chips and a sprinkling of Monterey Jack. I could also see a dollop of sour cream working well, and some hot sauce or extra jalapenos if you like it really spicy (though the heat definitely builds as you eat).

White Chicken Chili

Active Time: 30 min.

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 min.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, thighs, or a mixture of both (I used a 50-50 mix)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 medium jalapeños, stemmed and finely chopped
• 2 medium poblano chiles, stemmed and diced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini/white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (1 or 2 limes)
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• Tortilla chips

Method

• Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season generously all over with salt and pepper; set aside
• Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Working in 2 or 3 batches, add the chicken and cook, turning once, until it’s browned all over, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer to a large plate and set aside

• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the jalapeños, poblanos, bell pepper, and onion to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Cook, scraping up any browned bits that have accumulated on the bottom of the pot and stirring occasionally, until softened and just starting to brown, about 5 minutes

• Add the garlic, cumin, measured salt, and chili powder, stir to coat the vegetables, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute
• Add the stock and beans and stir to combine. Return the chicken pieces and any accumulated juices to the pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 40 minutes, turning the chicken halfway through

• Turn off heat and remove the chicken to a cutting board. Using two forks, remove the meat from the bone and coarsely shred it, discarding the skin and bones
• Using a potato masher, lightly mash about half of the beans and vegetables, leaving the remaining half intact. Stir in the shredded chicken and lime juice. Serve with the cheese, cilantro, tortilla chips and scallions on the side for garnishing

Enchiladas Suizas w/ Frijoles de Olla

I generally like to keep my posts varied in terms of cuisine, type of dish and difficulty of execution. And I know that now, 3 of my last 4 posts will have featured Mexican flavors. But if our cooking truly is a reflection of how we feel (and I think it is), then I have to be true to myself. And I’ve just been really into Mexican food lately. I eat at the same taqueria at least once a week, but even that was insufficient in satisfying my cravings, so I brought the fiesta home with me.

I love the comforting aspects of Mexican cuisine (when executed PROPERLY). The toothsome chew and intense corn flavor of a handmade tortilla; the porcine fattiness and crisp texture of perfectly fried carnitas or chicharrones; the complex, dried-fruit, nut and smoke flavors of various dried chiles; the mouth-coating body and silky texture of slow-simmered beans; the fresh-apple crispness and vegetal heat of a raw jalapeno. I could go on…

Today, I felt like making a dish I never order in restaurants, as I’m usually too tempted by other dishes. These enchiladas are called “Swiss” in Spanish because of their creamy sauce and cheesy topping. But they get a nice, (for lack of a better word) green flavor from roasted chiles, tomatillos and cilantro, my all-time favorite herb. For the filling, I took a shortcut and got pre-cooked, pre-shredded chicken from Safeway. I served these with a pot of pinto beans, simmered for 2 1/2 hours with a sliced white onion and some rendered bacon.

Enchiladas Suizas

Total Time: 1 1/2 hours

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lb. tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed
• 2 serrano chiles, stemmed
• 1 cup roughly chopped cilantro
• 1 cup sour cream
• ½ tsp. cumin seeds, toasted
• 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 poblano chiles
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 8 6″ corn tortillas
• 3 cups cooked shredded chicken
• 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella

Method

• Arrange an oven rack 4″ from the broiler and heat broiler to high. Place tomatillos, serranos and poblanos on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil, turning as needed, until blackened all over, about 10 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes, peel and discard skins and roughly chop the poblanos. Transfer to a blender along with cilantro, sour cream, cumin, garlic and 1 cup boiling water; season with salt and pepper, and purée until smooth. Set enchilada sauce aside
• Heat a dry 12″ skillet over medium-high heat. One at a time, cook tortillas just until pliable, about 15 seconds per side. Transfer tortillas to a work surface. Place chicken in a bowl and toss with 1 cup enchilada sauce until evenly coated. Divide sauced chicken evenly among tortillas, and roll tortillas tightly around chicken. Pour about 1 cup enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ baking dish, and place tortilla rolls in dish, seam side down, creating one row down the center of the dish. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over rolls, and cover evenly with mozzarella
• Heat oven to 375°. Bake enchiladas until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted on top, 25 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool for 10 minutes before serving

My pot of beans, simmering away