Thursday, December 30, 2010

White Turkey Chili


This is one of those recipes that you look at the list of ingredients and think you know how it's going to taste, but you don't...it's so much better!

And for that I'm very happy because even though I've been remiss in regular posting, Marthe still let me pick the recipe for Craving Ellie in My Belly this week! For inspiration, I turned to the Food Network website, and this recipe was one of Ellie Krieger's 10 most highly rated recipes. When I saw hominy, I almost kept going. But then I read some of the reviews and to say they are overwhelmingly positive is an understatement. People LOVED this recipe. Like me, many had never cooked with hominy. I didn't even know what it was...I thought hominy was a can of solidified grits. Really. After consulting Wikipedia, I still wasn't sure what it was. Wikipedia says:

"Hominy or nixtamal is dried maize kernels which have been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization."


Well, OK.

The recipe calls for a mirepoix of celery, onion and poblano peppers, some spices, ground turkey, white beans, broth and the canned hominy. I opened the can like there was an alien underneath the lid, and regarded the hominy with suspicion before rinsing it and tossing it in the pot. I needn't have worried. The hominy gave the chili a subtle corn flavor.

This was an easy recipe that made tons of chili, and I thought it was delicious. In fact, I wish I still had some to have for lunch today! I hope my fellow CEiMB cooks liked it as much as I did. If you'd like to make it, you can find the recipe in So Easy, below or here. I plan to make it again, but adapt it for my slow cooker.

White Turkey Chili

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 stalks celery, diced (about 1/2 cup)
3 medium poblano peppers (about 4 ounces each), seeded and white ribs removed, finely diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more to taste
1 pound ground white meat turkey
2 (15.5-ounce) cans white beans such as cannelini, drained and rinsed
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (15.5-ounce) can hominy, drained and rinsed
Salt
1/4 cup nonfat plain Greek-style yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Lime wedges

Heat the oil in large pot or Dutch oven over moderate heat. Add the onion, celery, poblanos, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander and cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the ground turkey and cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until the meat is no longer pink about 2 minutes. Add the white beans, broth and oregano. Cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes.

Add the hominy and salt and more cayenne pepper, to taste, and continue cooking, partially covered, 10 minutes longer. Ladle into individual bowls and top each serving with 1 tablespoon of yogurt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of cilantro. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Serves 6

9 comments:

Sarah said...

Thanks Leslie for a great pick. I really enjoyed it!

Debbi Does Dinner Healthy said...

I did the same thing when I saw this recipe, I thought, "what is hominy? I've heard of it." Too funny! This looks excellent, I so want to try it, thanks!

Kayte said...

Geesh...I goofed and thought for some reason this was next week and this week was a rewind, so I made zucchini chips. I didn't get as far as posting before I saw Sarah's post and thought, "OOOPPPSSS." So now I need to get to the store to get the turkey and hominy (I was going to skip the hominy part and use corn but now that I have read your post, I am going to try the hominy as I have never made that before either). It might be today, it might be tomorrow, but it WILL get made as we are big fans of chili around here and the moment I saw your pick, I was a very happy girl. Now if I could just get it made in the right week! Yours looks delicious!

Anonymous said...

Leslie, thanks for this. It was a success story in our house.

I cut down the heat for my husband who likes bland....drat.

I also used corn because that is what I had.

Mary said...

Hey Miss Leslie,
I have this chili on the stove right now. I was a hominy virgin too until today..I was a little scared of the can!
I can't wait to taste this.....XOXO, happy new year!

Anonymous said...

I was just looking at a recipe yesterday that called for hominy and I was thinking hmmmm...I don't know what that is. Maybe this is a sign that I should get on the hominy bandwagon and give it a try!

Joanne said...

Yes Leslie, your fellow CEimBers thought this recipe was a perfect pick. Great job.
I'll make it again for sure.

Heide said...

Great pick, Leslie! Hooray for hominy! :)

Lindsey said...

Yum! Great pick. Perfect comfort food for the cold nights we've been experiencing, but light enough that I feel like I'm getting back on track after the holiday treats. And now I'm not afraid to use hominy...so a win-win! :)