Turkey & Potato Chili Verde
Ahh, I love the change in seasons! I love the cold, I love gray skies, I love hearing the wind whistle through the trees and I love the possibility of snow!! I am sure many will disagree, but I LOVE it when weather shuts down the hustle of the outside world! My heart flutters a bit faster just recalling those days the kids and I bundle up, drink warm marshmallowy things and watch holiday movies all day long.
Well, I love it for about two days and then I am throwing them out to play when a “heat wave” of 21° hits. ((You know what I mean – I am sure!))
We have a perfect sledding spot in our neighborhood and I am not telling where it is! But come a snowy, frigid, crisp day you won’t have any trouble figuring it out. Neighborhood kids know the perfect joy that awaits, just a few turns past that certain cul-de-sac… they show up in droves ((most of those neighborhood kids have the same last name – but that is another story for another time)).
This dramatic shift in weather, from what seemed like an eternal summer, makes me anticipate the greatness of the approaching season. So, I am excitedly preparing meals in hopes of extreme cold on the horizon.
But really, it is 27° outside – I don’t have to anticipate much today! The cold season is here, my toes are cold and I LOVE IT.
I had the perfect idea for a meal worthy of cold weather, my pantry was stocked with the necessary staples & it was a hit.
A few nights ago, I anticipated the weather to come and browned 2 pounds of ground turkey, allowed it to cool and refrigerated it. The next day, I diced up one large sweet onion and 10 or so medium Yukon Gold potatoes.
It a large dutch oven, I sautéed the onion, added the diced potatoes along with the pre-browned ground turkey. **UPDATE** After making this recipe over a dozen times, I have modified the recipe to better fir my tastes. I will re-write this entire blog post one day, but in the mean time, I have found adding the precooked protein ((whether shredded or ground turkey or chicken)) at the end and heating it through on the stove top yields a much better texture.
The next few things happened in rapid succession: I added a large jar of salsa verde, a can of chopped green chilies, two cans of cannellini beans ((One more change: I only use dried beans now – between 1 & 2 pounds of dried navy beans depending on the quantity I am looking to make)), a heap of mild Hatch green chili powder, a smaller heap of cumin, and about 32 oz of chicken broth. I happened to have 2-3 T of heavy whipping cream leftover from my latest buttercream-palooza so I added that as well. A seasoned it lightly with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
I gave it three good stirs and I covered my lovely dutch oven and sent it off to cook low and slow in dutch oven heaven ((my oven)).
5½ hours later my house smelled of spicy, savory, wonderful, warm goodness. The outside was dark and blustery but inside we were cozy and our tums were anticipating tasty comfort.
I love “no-peek” cooking – but if I had to tell you why, I might not be able to explain it well enough to convince you. Trust me when I say: something magical happens in “no-peek’ cooking. Broths thicken and rich, deep flavors are more completely developed. Yes, slow-cookers are wonderful – and perform perfectly most of the time. But for stews, hearty ((pasta-less)) soups & meaty pasta sauces — a “no-peek” dutch oven method is they way to go.
What is “no-peek”? It is the simplest method of cooking EVER. Simply combine everything in a dutch oven. Depending on the recipe, either bring the ingredients to a low boil prior to placing the dutch oven in the oven on a low temp ((usually between 250° and 300°)) – or just stick the dutch oven directly in the oven without preheating.
Now for difficult part: do not open the oven for 5 hours, do not uncover the lid — that’s right, do not peek.
When dinner time comes around, pull it out of the oven, uncover, stir and serve. BOOM. It’s a dinner miracle.
- 1 large sweet onion, diced
- 8-10 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, washed and diced into 1" chunks
- 1 large jar ((approximately 24 oz)) of your favorite salsa verde ((I love Herdez))
- 2 can cannellini beans*
- 1 small can ((4 oz)) chopped green chilies
- 4 c water ((if using dried beans, you will need more like 8 to 10 cups))
- 2-3 T whipping cream (optional)
- 1 T chicken broth base
- 1 T mild Hatch green chili powder
- 2-3 t cumin
- 2 lb ground, browned turkey ((I used a 50:50 blend of breast and thigh)), or shredded rotisserie chicken**
- sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- 1 c chopped fresh cilantro
- sour cream ((optional))
- Preheat oven 300°. In a large dutch oven, combine all ingredients, stirring to combine ((except precooked turkey, cilantro, S & P & sour cream)). Over medium heat, bring to a low simmer. Season to taste, taking care not to over season ((I wait until cooking is complete to finalize seasoning)).
- Cover and place in pre-heated dutch oven for 5-6 hours.
- Remove add cooked turkey or chicken, cilantro, stirring to combine. Season with s&p to taste. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.
- Serves 8
- Want to make this Chili Verde vegetarian? No problem! Simply remove the chicken base and meat. Replace with vegetable stock, carrots, celery and an extra can of beans.
- *I have adjusted this recipe over the last year and now only use dried beans ((not canned)). I usually use between 1 & 2 lbs of dried navy beans and up the water content to approximately 10 cups, or 2" from the top of large dutch oven. Cooking time and temp remains the same and I i add a protein to the soup, I always add it at the end and heat it through on the stove top before serving. The remainder of the ingredients stay the same. Garnish as desired.