White Chicken Chili

prep 15 min.

ready 45 min.

serves 4-6

I recently purchased a Griswold #9 cast iron Dutch oven at a local thrift store so I wanted to try it out after cleaning and seasoning it. It was quite a find, and it worked wonderfully for this white chili.

Christmas seems to have crept up way too fast this year. The Christmas tree is up, the house is decorated, and it has been very cold outside so it’s starting to feel like holiday season. The sky has been cloudy and gray the last several days, though, so I thought today would be a perfect day to make this white chicken chili. I had some of the ingredients in the house including the chicken breasts, but needed to purchase green chilies. While out running around, I stopped at a favorite market called Super Green Market which is a Mid-Eastern grocery. They typically have fresh produce and some hard to find spices at great prices. I asked them if they had green chilies, and they said, “Yes.” I was going to buy a couple of small cans, but decided to try the fresh ones they had. I asked if they were hot. They told me they weren’t, so I purchased them. While prepping for the chili, I decided to try one of the chilies. To my surprise, it was one of the hottest I have ever had. I was panting for air and finally dipped my tongue in a glass of milk to try to kill the burning pain in my mouth. Wow, it was hot! I ended up throwing the chilies away and ran out to the local neighborhood grocer to buy some fresh mild chilies. I’m glad I tested them before adding them to the chili. Anyway, it was a good learning experience.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced

• 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tsp. oregano (I used fresh.)

• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

• 2 (4.5 oz.) cans green chilies or about 6-8 small fresh ones, seeded and cored (I used fresh.)

• 2 boneless, skinless, large chicken breasts

• 6 cups chicken broth

• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

• 1/2 tsp. ground sea salt

• 4 (15 oz.) cans white beans, drained and rinsed

• Cilantro, freshly chopped for garnish

• 1 avocado, sliced for garnish

• Sliced jalapeño, for garnish (optional)

• 1-2 limes sliced

• 1 Tbs. sour cream (optional)

Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken breasts and sear to golden brown on both sides until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. (I used my cast iron Dutch oven for both cooking the chicken and making the chili.) While cooking the chicken, I covered the pan with a screen cover to prevent grease from flying out of it.

2. Remove chicken breasts from pan.

3. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat and add onion, jalapeño, garlic, oregano, cumin, and chilies and saute about two minutes.

4. Break apart the chicken breasts with your fingers and add to the pot.

5. Pour in chicken broth and add white beans. Add salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and let simmer, covered, 20-30 minutes.

6. Ladle the chili into a bowl and garnish with chopped fresh cilantro, avocado, and jalapeño slices (optional). A dab of sour cream would also be a nice touch, but I skipped it this time.

I served this chili with a fresh loaf of bread from the Super Green Market.