Mamamontezz's Mental Rumpus Room

White Chilli

Yes, I know some of you will cry "Heretic" and "Blasphemer" when you see this, but I happen to really like this recipe. No, it's not really chilli in the strictest sense of the word, but it's the closest thing I could find that appoximates it.

In a big dutch oven or heavy stewpot, put some olive oil and a whole large onion chopped up. Sweat the onions until they're soft, but don't brown them. Then toss in one bag of dry Great Northern beans that you've sorted and rinced, two small cans of chopped mild green chillis, a few rings of japaleno pepper minced, some of the juice from the japaleno jar, some minced garlic, and top with a whole chicken or an equivalent amout of chicken parts and water or chicken broth to just cover. Add a good mounded teaspoon of salt or two to help with the beans, then simmer covered until the chicken is tender and done.

When the chicken is done, remove it and let it set until it is cool enough to handle. Take the meat from the bones, tear it into nice bite-sized pieces and put them back into the pot with the still simmering beans.

At this point, taste it for seasoning and add more salt if it needs it. Add pepper, and shake in either six healthy shots of tobasco or a similar amount of hot green sauce. Stir it all together and let it continue to cook uncovered at a simmer. Stir it occasionally and the broth will thicken as some of the beans break down.

Cook this until the beans are really tender. Serve it with shredded cheese and sour cream. It's a little bit soupier than a traditional chilli, so you can add pasta shells if you like, or a handful of rice when you put the chicken back in. It's also good ladled over a mound of steamed rice in the bottom of a warm stoneware bowl.

Sure, it looks funny if you compare it to traditional chilli, but it sure does taste good.

Posted by Mamamontezz at December 15, 2004 11:36 PM