Friday, April 2, 2010

Recipe: Mediterranean White Chili

This chili may not be pretty, but it's delicious. Kinda looks like cottage cheese in this photo, eh? Guess it would be nicer served in a pretty bowl with some garnishes, like lemon slices or a rosemary sprig, but . . . oh well. :-/

Typically, chili has more of a Southwestern, Mexican, or even Southern flavor. This chili, however, is inspired by European food. I begin the chili with a classic French mirepoix and then add some spices and ingredients inspired by Mediterranean cuisine. At bottom, though, this makes a delicious and versatile pot of chili with beans - perfect post-op food. To make it more Mediterranean-inspired, you could use chickpeas instead of navy beans. I prefer the creamy texture of navy, white kidney, or even cannelini beans.

You can make this with fewer or different ingredients if you want. The keys to this chili are the caramelization of the mirepoix, the earthiness of the rosemary, and the brightness of the lemon. Everything else can be substituted or omitted.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. ground white meat (I used ground turkey breast, but chicken or pork would work as well)
  • About 150 grams white onion, minced
  • About 75 grams celery, minced
  • About 50 grams carrot, minced
  • About 50 grams garlic, minced (I used elephant, but you could probably use about 6 cloves of regular garlic, which has stronger flavor so you need less of it)
  • 1.5 tbsp. chopped rosemary - fresh is best, but dried whole rosemary works
  • Salt (start with 2 tsp., but to taste)
  • 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
  • 2 tsp. each ground coriander and dried oregano (use dried. If you must use fresh, add it at the end of cooking, but I prefer dried for the chili)
  • 1 tsp. each rubbed sage and ground white or black pepper
  • 1/2 of a 15 oz. can of navy beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt (I used Fage 0%)
  • 1/4 cup softened fat-free cream cheese
  • 1 tbsp. Splenda
  • Juice and zest of one lemon
  • 2 roma tomatoes, large dice
Directions:

  1. Combine the onions, celery, and carrot to create a classic mirepoix. The mirepoix for this recipe is 6 parts onion, 3 parts celery, and 2 parts carrot, but feel free to fudge those numbers a bit. The main thing is that you want a lot more onion than carrot and celery.
  2. Bring a pot (preferably not a nonstick pot) to medium heat, spray with cooking spray, sprinkle with your 2 tsp. salt, and begin caramelizing the mirepoix. You want it to get brown and for some of the juices to stick to the bottom and turn brown. A chef would call the brown stuff "fond," and getting a good fond is what makes this chili delicious. Make sure nothing gets black, though - just brown!
  3. Stir in the garlic and rosemary, then pour in 1 cup of your chicken broth. The pan should steam and release the fond. Stir to make sure you have it all.
  4. Stir in the ground meat, trying to break it up as much as possible.
  5. Add your coriander, oregano, sage, and white or black pepper, and stir to distribute through the meat.
  6. Once the spices are distributed throughout the meat, add the other cup of chicken broth. Then, add the navy beans. Allow the chili to simmer for about 25 minutes.
  7. After the chili has simmered and the liquid has reduced a bit, stir in the Greek yogurt, Splenda, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Allow the chili to simmer for 5-7 more minutes, or until it's reached your desired consistency. Taste and make sure you don't need to add more salt or pepper.
  8. Melt in the cream cheese, then stir in the Roma tomatoes. (If you decided to use fresh oregano, you'd add this here as well. Fresh oregano is delicate and you must be careful not to add it too early.) Taste to check for seasoning, and adjust as needed. Chili's up!
Nutritional Information:
This recipe makes roughly 10 1/2 cup servings. One 1/2 cup serving made with the ingredients I used contains roughly 106 calories, 14 grams of protein, 8 grams net carbs, and 1 gram of fat.

Using ground chicken breast, a different kind of white bean, or a different brand of Greek yogurt would only slightly change these stats. Make sure to account for more drastic substitutions.

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