Turkey Tomatillo Chili

I’d like to take a minute to tell you how happy I am that fall seems to have arrived. It’s been a hot summer, but right now, the days are sunny but cooler and the nights are crisp. I know it’s still possible for the temperatures to soar again, or for there to be a Hot-tober for a third year, but for now, I’m comfortable. Sigh.

This cooler weather and the beginning of the televised football season (I’ve had another grumpy baseball year, so have more or less given up on that sport for now) means chili, of course. It also means bratwurst and bean dips and grilled potatoes and such, but my most recent indoor tailgating meal involved a light and tangy chili with ground turkey, peppers and tomatillos.

 

This recipe is based on the Turkey Chili Verde recipe from The Ultimate Cook Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. I suppose you could find other similar ones out there, but these authors publish reliable recipes. I’d made this one before, keeping closer to the original, which contains poblano chiles. Again, I had nice bell peppers and jalapenos instead, so I substituted them with good results. I also skipped the step of roasting the peppers. I think I must have just done that because I was too tired to include the extra step.

While I’m sure roasting (or grilling) the peppers would have added more deliciousness (I can’t remember whether I did that when I made this chili a few years ago), my chili was quite good with plain peppers. I used a red bell pepper, which erases the “verde” part of the original, but which is also nice and sweet (and was what I had on hand). This time of year all the peppers seem to be excellent, so I think any bell pepper will do.

 

Really, the tomatillos are the most important part of this chili recipe anyway.  I just love them. They’ve got a texture and acidity like extra-firm tomatoes, but also an especially tangy, kind of fruity punch that goes so well in a light chili. The original recipe gives permission to use canned tomatillos, and I’d say that if that’s all you have available, they make a fine substitution. I had some lovely fresh ones from the farmer’s market. They were so delicious and really didn’t require much extra preparation. Yes, the papery husks need to be removed, but they come off easily. They should also be scrubbed or rubbed well with a brush or cloth to get the slightly sticky residue off their skins.

 

Since this is basically the same as any other chili or stew, there’s just a lot of chopping and simmering and waiting. Waiting while it slowly bubbles away to make a rich, meaty, tangy, spicy and satisfying bowl of hot and comforting goodness to celebrate the arrival of fall.
 

Turkey Tomatillo Chili

Adapted from The Ultimate Cook Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough

2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
½ teaspoon coarse (kosher) salt, plus more to taste
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 (more or less to taste) jalapeno chiles, stems removed, minced
1 to 1 ¼ pound ground turkey
1 pound fresh tomatillos, husks removed, scrubbed and chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (or about 1 teaspoon dried)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
4 cups chicken broth
3 cups cooked white beans (about 2 16-ounce cans), drained and rinsed
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1. Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and salt and sauté until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and chiles and cook, stirring, about 30 seconds more.

2. Add the turkey to the pan and cook, stirring to crumble, just until it is all no longer pink. This should take about 5-8 minutes. Add the tomatillos, oregano and cumin and cook about 1 minute more, stirring frequently.

3. Add the chicken broth and beans. Bring to a gentle boil. Cook, uncovered, at a very low boil for about 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally.

4. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice. Taste for salt and add more if desired.

Makes 6-8 servings

 

Other recipes like this one: Chorizo and Chipotle Chili, Squash and Pinto Bean Chili, Beef Stew with Tomatillos and Roasted Poblano Chiles

Making it Match

It has become that bad. I now lay awake at night trying to figure out how to make two dishes using ingredients that have been languishing in the freezer or have gone a bit past their prime into a cohesive menu with flavors that don’t clash, but compliment each other. As if there isn’t enough in this crazy world to worry about.

You see, it all started with the turkey tenderloin I’ve had in the freezer since late December. Now that the warmer weather allows for cooler main courses, I planned to make a turkey salad with curry powder, grapes and cashews. The thing is, I also wanted to use up a cauliflower that I had bought more than a week ago. (It was starting to get a few brownish spots. Don’t worry, they didn’t kill me.) I had a great-looking recipe for roasted cauliflower with chickpeas and olives that I wanted to try. I just didn’t think these two recipes would “go” together as well as I wanted and was planning to make them for separate meals. I needed to use up those ingredients, though, and wanted to do it soon.

I tried to think of a way to curry up the cauliflower dish, but just adding curry powder to everything seemed so inelegant (yes, I worry about these things.) And so I was lying awake, agitated about these dishes as if the world would somehow be a better place if I figured this out. Well, duh, it finally occurred to me that I could change the turkey salad just as easily as the cauliflower dish and the day was saved.

The roasted cauliflower dish (I hope to post that recipe soon) has chickpeas and lots of garlic and green olives. This made me think of Spanish flavors which translated into sherry vinegar, red bell peppers and smoked paprika for the turkey salad, since those were ingredients I had on hand. For crunch, I wanted to replace the cashews in the original recipe with almonds, but all I had were smokehouse almonds. These turned out to be a great match with the smoked paprika.

This all might not take you directly to Spain, especially as a turkey salad served in pita bread, but it tastes good, and that’s the whole point anyway. Oh yeah, and it matched well with the cauliflower dish.

Turkey Salad with Sherry Vinegar and Smoked Paprika
Based on a recipe in Cooking Light magazine.

I roasted a turkey breast tenderloin with salt, pepper and olive oil at 350 F for about 40 minutes, or to an internal temperature of 165 F. I then covered it with foil for about 10 minutes (to finish cooking), removed the foil, let the turkey cool and shredded it.

There’s absolutely no reason that I can see why you couldn’t use chicken instead of turkey to make this salad.

¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cooked turkey breast, shredded or chopped
½ cup finely chopped red bell pepper
½ cup finely chopped celery
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
¼ cup chopped smoked (or “smokehouse”) almonds
2 tablespoons minced parsley

1. In a large bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, sherry vinegar, honey, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Whisk to combine.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Serve on a bed of lettuce or on bread or in a pita as a sandwich.

Makes about 4 servings.