What could be better on a cold night than a bowl of homemade white chicken chili, especially one made easy (if you like) with a rotisserie chicken?
– Donald Justice, poet
after losing his mother
In much of the country, last weekend we turned back the hands of the clock, creating the illusion of a gifted hour.
My first job, I rode the bus to work. Frugality was the reason but I soon treasured the rhythm of workward, reading the paper, homeward, a book.
But after the fall time change, as the bus lumbered through neighborhoods whose names not residents I knew, I ignored my book and instead peered through thick glass. On the Mondays and some times the Tuesdays and even the Wednesdays, folks had yet to adjust their evening routines: the drapes, the blinds, the curtains, remained open. So the bright lights of kitchens and front rooms spilled into the dark, illuminating the families cocooned inside the warmth of homes in living panoramas, Moms at the stove, kids at the table with schoolwork, the flicker of television in another room. It was a gifted hour, one I repeat, now on foot with the dog, each year.
White kidney beans, called cannellini beans, are firmer than navy beans so are a better choice for a dish like this that will cook a long time and probably be reheated as leftovers.
KITCHEN CLASSIC:
WHITE CHICKEN CHILI
Time to table: 2 hours
Makes 9 cups
- 1 pound chicken breasts, diced
- 14 ounces chicken broth (1½ cups)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Pepper to taste
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 8 ounces canned chopped mild green chilies
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 28 ounces canned white beans, rinsed
- 14 ounces canned corn, including liquid
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 2 cups fat-free half ‘n’ half
- ½ cup low-fat sour cream
- ½ teaspoon Tabasco
- Garnish with chopped cilantro
Cook chicken in splash of the chicken broth in a Dutch oven over medium heat until cooked. Heat remaining broth in microwave. Transfer chicken to a dish to hold.
Melt butter with chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Add onion, red pepper, garlic and chilies; cook until onion is soft. Stir in flour; cook 1 minute. Stir in hot broth, chicken, beans, corn and vinegar. Cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer for 90 minutes. Stir in half ‘n’ half, sour cream and Tabasco; rewarm but do not boil. Serve and enjoy!
A rotisserie chicken makes this soup extra-easy to put together in just a few minutes! I also like to substitute a poblano pepper for the red pepper, adding some underlying heat and much less expensive.
More Recipes for Hearty Soups
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Your Comments:
11/03/2006
Please note: this is different than being a peeper! :-)
Thanks for the recipe, too. This might be a good thing to make this weekend...it's definitely chili weather, and we already had ground beef-based chili last week and this week...time for a change-up.
11/03/2006
11/06/2006
11/06/06