White Bean Chicken Chili

Britons, I have news for you: Chili is not meant to be eaten over rice. That’s weird. To be fair, I can’t say that I blame you. Chili should be eaten with good tortilla chips, which you guys generally lack, or with cornbread, which is also hard to come by. However, I have found a chili recipe that I think actually goes quite well with rice, and if you’re really healthy, brown rice.

While my mom has made this for me in the past, I found basically the same thing on epicurious. It’s easy to translate across international lines, because most of the measuring is done be reading labels in the grocery store, not by measuring, whether it’s volume or weight.

I keep it simple:  an onion a bit bigger than a loose fist, a green bell pepper, a lot of garlic, 2.25(ish) pounds of chicken, breasts if you want it a little healthier, thighs if you want it a bit more flavorful and a little cheaper, 2 15-16 ounce cans of some sort of white bean (not chickpeas, that’s a bit strange, but navy, great northern, or white kidneys are all fine), 2 cans of diced tomatoes, and salt, pepper, cumin, & oregano to taste.

Cut the veg. Can I say that my favorite thing about soups, stews & chilis is that it doesn’t matter how I cut the ingredients, it’ll look the same no matter what. So my standard of “smaller pieces than I started with and the same number of fingers” is fiiiine.

Saute veg in a large pot with about four circles of olive oil. While the veg is cooking, cut the chicken into cubes, and add it to the pot when the vegetables are soft and the onions are slightly clear. I add the spices here, use the recipe below as a guide, you can always add more later (I admit, I am a cumin freak). When the chicken is no longer pink, drain the beans halfway (you don’t need to be too thorough), but don’t drain the tomatoes, and add those all to the pot. Let it simmer at a medium-low setting until it’s at a consistency you like. You can serve with cilantro, but I generally skip it. Sour cream goes really well with it.

Here’s the real recipe, from Bon Appétit, via epicurious.com:

Chicken and White Bean Chili

Yield: Makes 6 Servings
Active Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 50 Minutes

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/3 cups chopped onion
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 1/4 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 15- to 16-ounce cans white beans, drained, juices reserved
2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add chicken; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until chicken is no longer pink outside, about 5 minutes. Mix in chili powder, tomato paste, cumin, and oregano. Add beans, 1 cup reserved bean juices, and canned tomatoes. Simmer until chicken is cooked through and chili is thickened, about 25 minutes. If chili is too thick, add more bean juices by tablespoonfuls to thin. Season chili to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in cilantro and serve.