White Chili

I had white chili for the first time many, many years ago at Timothy’s Cafe and Restaurant in Louisville.  Timothy’s is long gone, but their recipe lives on.  It was published by both Bon Appetit and the Courier-Journal.  The recipe here is based upon the original recipe from the restaurant. 

For the 4 cups of chicken listed in the recipe, you can substitute the chicken meat from a rotisserie chicken, or a bag of rotisserie chicken breast meat from Costco, picked over.

Garnish the chili with grated Monterey Jack cheese, salsa, and sour cream.

Makes about 4 1/2 quarts, serving 8-10

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 4-ounce cans chopped green chilis
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Salt
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 4 cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups cooked chicken breast, cut up (4 bone-in skin on chicken breasts will yield about 4 cups of cooked meat)
  

Directions:

1. Saute the onions with the oil over medium heat in a large dutch oven (I used a Le Creuset #26) until tender, about 10-12 minutes.
   
2. Add the garlic, green chilis, cumin, oregano, pepper, and salt and cook for another few minutes.
   
3. Add the chicken stock and 1/2 of the beans.
   
4. Puree the mixture using an immersion blender or by transferring the mixture to a regular blender, until mostly smooth.  This serves to thicken the chili, but you can skip this step if desired.
   
5. Add the rest of the beans and the chicken, and simmer for about 30 minutes.