Poblano Chicken Chili
After traveling for 10 days, it feels so good to be home.
I'm very much a creature of habit so having a new routine for 10 days was different for me. Sleep, eat, work, repeat. Lucky for me, the SF Bay area has some of the best, most diverse food so I did not go hungry.
I got in on Thursday night, went to work yesterday, and have spent most of today just lounging around with Franklin and Wallis. Side note, January 19, 2018 marks one year since I've brought them home and it's amazing how fast time flies when you clean a litter box once a day.
Not having many groceries in my kitchen, I ordered them through Instacart yesterday because I knew I was not going to have the energy to shop at HEB after work. I decided I wanted some comfort food that would be relatively easy to make, so chili it was. It was very, very cold in Austin while I was away and though I miss the cold weather, I was grateful not to have to scrape ice off my car for 30 minutes. I don't think the winter weather will last much longer here, so I have to get my winter food in while I can.
Normally when I think of chili, it's tomato-y, beef-based, with beans (sorry, Texas), and spicy enough to make your nose run. I also really like white chili, and it's always lighter than its red counterpart. Being gone from home for so long made me miss the tex-mex flavors so chicken poblano chili was formed.
Poblano Chicken Chili
Ingredients
6 poblano chili peppers or 4 oz canned green chilies
2 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
1 tbsp cumin ground
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp white pepper
2 bay leaves
2 - 14.5 oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed & drained
4 - 6 cups low sodium chicken stock
Instructions
ROASTED POBLANO CHILIES
Set oven to broil. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Dampen 6 paper towels and have a gallon Ziploc bag handy.
Clean and dry poblano chilies. Arrange the chilies on the prepared baking sheet, then set them in the oven on the topmost rack. Roast the chilies until the skin has blistered and charred for about 5-7 minutes. Flip the chilies and let the other side blister as well. Remove the chilies from the oven, wrap in the damp paper towels and seal in a Ziploc back to steam for 10-15 minutes.
Remove chilies from the bag and unwrap the paper towels. The chili skins will likely come loose with the paper towel, or you can peel it off with the back of a knife. Cut the chilies into bite-sized pieces and put them back into the bag until ready to use. Try to remove most of the seeds, but it's not detrimental if they stay in.
POBLANO CHICKEN CHILI
In a 5 quart or larger dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Sweat down the onion and garlic until translucent. Reduce heat to low, and add in the poblanos, chicken, spices, beans, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Bring all of the ingredients to a boil, and then simmer for 15 minutes. Serve into bowls and garnish as desired.