Chicken Chili

Now that there are some cooler days this is a great thing to make to take the chill off. I like to make it with chicken as an alternative to the typical beef. It has a nice balance of heat and bold flavours with a hint of smoke. Chunks of chicken and some beans, all you need is some grated cheddar and a hunk of bread.


You will need:

• 8-10 chicken thighs chopped into small pieces or 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken 
• 1 jalepeno pepper
• 1 mulato chili (dried)
• 1 small chipotle pepper (dried or in a can)
• 2 -4 fresh chilis
• 1 tsp chili d'arbol flakes
• 1 tomato
• 1 onion
• 2 stalks celery
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3-4 tbsp olive oil
• salt.pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp corinader
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 cup coffee
• 1 small can kidney beans
• 1 28 oz can of tomatoes can be chopped or pureed

Step 1: in a dry pan place both your fresh and dried chilies on a medium heat. You are trying to soften the dry and slightly char the fresh to blacken the skin somewhat. I remove the dry after about 5 minutes and continue cooking the fresh chilies until you get some black spots on the skins and they get slightly soft. I feel that a variety of peppers makes a better chili so if you have some kicking around your pantry this is a good use for them. Once they are blackened you can remove the stem, seeds and veins to reduce the heat if you prefer your chili less on the hot side. I also remove the stems and seeds from the dry chilies before adding to food processor.

Step 2: place all the chilies in a food processor. If you find it too dry to mix you can add a few tbsp of water to loosen and puree better.

Step 3: in a food processor add tomato, onion, celery, garlic and process until you have a fine mince.

Step 4: chop chicken thighs or breasts or even use ground chicken. Place in a a hot pan with a few tbsp olive oil. Add salt, pepper, cumin, ground coriander and chili powder. Cook for 5 minutes to allow spices to bloom in the hot oil and to sear chicken.

Step 5: place chicken and pureed chilies in a medium saucepan. 

Step 6: add crushed or chopped tomatoes and brewed coffee and cook on low-medium heat for 2 hours. If you find it getting dry add some water to loosen. It should quietly just blip along with an occasional stir. In the last 15 minutes add the rinsed canned beans.

Serve hot with grated or chopped cheese, sour cream, fresh cilantro, chopped onions or whatever you like best on your chili. I always finish with a good glug of bold extra virgin olive oil.