White Chicken Chili

I realize I may be going a little overboard with the fall themed dishes as of late, but I don't care. I love football and I love dishes that warm the house and belly. Meatballs, pot roast and now, chili. All things that remind me of my mom and dad. This is a recipe my mom makes and is always an instant pleaser at parties and football games.

There are lots of good chili recipes out there, but swapping out brown meat for a little white meat proves to be quite tasty. Put this one on the stove for your next football party, and no one will miss the beef. It's a pretty quick recipe to make, so give it a shot. And go Gamecocks. Beat Georgia!

White Chicken Chili

1 rotisserie chicken (from your grocer)
5 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1 cup half and half
6 pasilla or 2 poblano chiles (charred and seeded)
1 4 oz. can diced Hatch green chilies
2 15 oz. can Cannellini beans
2 onions (diced)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tbsp cumin
1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper
s&p
4 tbsp unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
3 tbsp flour
to serve:
cilantro
sour cream
shredded cheddar or Jack cheese
 

Crank up your broiler, and put the pasilla peppers on a baking sheet. Let them char under the broiler until all the skin is blistered. Carefully remove them from the broiler and put into a plastic bag. Let them steam in the bag for about 10 minutes. This makes it a lot easier to remove the skin. Take them out of the skin and peel off the skin, and remove the majority of the seeds. Chop and set aside.

Getting all the meat off the chicken is a messy job, but well worth it. Get rid of all the skin, and pull every single piece of meat off that delicious creation. Breasts, legs, thighs and wings. Break it into little pieces and set aside in a bowl for later. I use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store for this recipe because it has so much flavor. Until I can re-create that in my own stove, I'll use my local grocer's help on this recipe. Before you throw the carcass away, here's a super easy and delicious chicken broth recipe to try out. I've got a stock pile in my freezer.

Get out a large soup pot, and heat 4 tbsp unsalted butter over medium heat. Add the onions and let them cook for about 10 minutes. Add a bit of salt and pepper. Add the garlic and let cook for an additional 3 minutes. Now add the chopped pasilla peppers and the can of green chilie. Add cumin and cayenne pepper. Let cook for 5 minutes.

Add flour to the onion and pepper mixture to make it paste-like. Let the flour absorb for 3 minutes. This will help thicken the chili. Now slowly whisk in the chicken broth, water and half and half. Once all added, bring to a simmer. Add chicken and beans. Let cook over low heat for 30 minutes to bring the flavors together. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, some shredded cheese and fresh cilantro.