Chicken Chilli

Now everyone makes their chilli differently. Some like no beans, some like beans but no vegetables etc, etc. Myself I like to have more beans and vegies than meat, and after many pots of chilli cooking on my stove have realised that I love to use ground chicken over beef. It makes for a lighter chilli with big flavour and way less fat content.

I like to use navy and black beans in this recipe, I think they have a lovely mild flavour and go well with the chicken, whereas kidney beans are wonderful with beef because they have more pronounced flavour and a thicker texture. The mushrooms give it a lovely earthiness, and remember never wash your mushrooms under water, always wipe them clean with a damp kitchen towel. Mushrooms have alot of moisture to them naturally, so by running them under water your taking away from their flavour, and texture....I mean who wants to eat a bland slimmy mushroom!

Chicken Chilli

400g lean ground chicken

1 large brown onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 large green pepper (capsicum), diced

1 large red pepper (capsicum), diced

250g mushrooms, halved and sliced

1 19oz (538g) tin of navy beans, drained and rinsed

1 19oz (538g) tin of black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups frozen corn

1 28oz (793g) tin diced tomatoes

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 heaped tblsp chilli powder

1 heaped tblsp ground cumin

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper


2 tblsp corn starch


3 tblsp cold water

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and generously spray with olive oil. Add the finely diced onion and ground chicken, stirring constantly until chicken is no longer pink and cooked through.

Add red and green diced peppers, cook for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook for a further 3-4 minutes. Add tomatoes, beans, corn, stock, chilli powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir well, cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer on low heat for 45 minutes stirring regularly (every 10-15 mins).

Mix together the corn starch with 3 tblsp cold water and stir until corn starch is completely dissolved. Add to chilli on a high heat, stir to combine and let it boil for 1 minute until the liquid in the chilli has thickened slightly.

To serve, spoon chilli into a bowl, top with 1-2 tblsp of sour cream and few fresh cilantro leaves, with some lightly salted plain corn chips on the side for dipping and scooping.

TIP:

Try to keep all the cut vegetables the same size as the beans, so it all cooks at the same time. This makes a large pot of chilli, you can store it in an air tight container in the fridge for a few days, or it freezes beautifully.


It's easy to make your own chilli powder, it's something I had to do back home in Australia when I couldn't find it in the supermarket like here in Canada. Here it is:


2 tblsp ground cumin

4 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp cayene pepper

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp ground oregano


Of course you can double or triple the amounts to make a larger batch and just keep it in a jar or air tight conatiner for whenever you need it!

This is great served over pasta or on top of nacho's.....if you like your chilli with more of a kick then just add some crushed red pepper flakes when you add the other spices.