Fire Roasted White Chicken Chili

Last month  when we hosted our son’s engagement party, a dear friend brought over White Chicken Chili.  It smelled wonderful and everyone ranted about how delicious it was.  However, I was warned not to eat it myself as I can only tolerate so much heat in food and it was said to be hotter n’ hot. 

However, it left me intrigued to find a recipe to make for myself.  It sounded so good and I wanted to try it too!

I searched the internet and found a couple of recipes that sparked my interest.  I made some  changes to make it more my style and this is what I ended up with.  It was delicious, and just kicky enough to make my nose run, but not so kicky that I couldn’t taste all the wonderful flavors melding together. 

WARNING:  When melting cheese into a soup, be sure it is on low heat.  Allow your shredded cheese to come to room temperature and add it a little at a time, stirring to melt.  Do not let the soup heat up after that.  Once it’s melted you are done…unless you want globs of goo instead of melted cheese…your choice.   Don’t ask how I know this…sigh.

For the Printable Recipe, click here.

Heat your olive oil in a dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat…

Chop up your onion into a nice dice

Add to the pot and stir it around to coat…

Using your handy-dandy garlic press, add a couple or 3 garlic cloves to the pot. 

While that sautes nicely, chop up your Roasted Poblano Peppers…go here to learn how to roast them… or just open up 2-4oz cans.

When your onions and garlic look like this…all nice and golden…

Dump in the chilis!  Chiles?  Chilly’s?

Take a bottle of good quality white wine and pour a decent amount into the pot…this is the part that throw it over the top for me.  Ok, don’t go crazy, about 1/4 – 1/2 cup should do.   Let that simmer for 2-3 minutes.

While that simmers, chop up your chicken.

Go here if you wanna know how I seasoned my chicken.

Throw your chicken in the pot.

Add the seasonings, and stir it up.

Action shot..

Pour in your broth.  As you can see, I was using what I had on hand…I had to use up some beef broth…so NOT so “white” chili.

Cover the pot and let that simmer for 30 minutes.

Shred your cheese and let it sit at room temp for the whole time your soup simmers.  Trust me here, I did not do this…sigh.  Let your yogurt/sour cream sit at room temp too!

Turn heat to low, add cheese to the pot a little at a time, so it melts nicely and does not turn into the “Blob”…

I stirred like crazy until I realized I could not undo my mistake and I would be eating cheese blobs.  It still tasted fantastic.  I can’t wait to make it the right way, lol

Once the cheese is melted, gently stir in the yogurt (or sour cream).  You are now done.  Get your toppings ready and get ready to EAT!

Hey, while that soup was cooking I threw in a dish of cheesy cornbread, because chili and cornbread kinda go together.

Get cookin’!

Fire Roasting Peppers and Tomatoes

Roasting peppers and tomatoes brings out the best in them.  When roasted, these already tasty items become sweetly smoky in flavor, adding a distinctive flair to whatever they are used in.

Yes, it’s easier to buy a jar or can.  But where’s the fun in that?

I’ve roasted peppers over the burner of my gas stove.  It was time consuming and tedious. 

I’ve roasted tomatoes in my oven, it heated up the house, took a long time and the skins didn’t come off quite as easily as I’d hoped.

Roasting peppers and tomatoes on the grill has proven to be the easiest method, with the best results.

I wanted to try my hand at making a Fire Roasted White Chicken Chili, so I grabbed 5 Poblano Chilis at the grocery.  An inexpensive purchase. 

Heat your grill up on High and clean the grate.  Rinse and dry your peppers/tomatoes.  Place peppers/tomatoes directly on the grill and close the lid.

NOTE:  I roasted these on separate days, but you could put all three of these on the grill at the same time if you wanted.

Come back after about 3-5 minutes.  Turn the peppers a quarter turn when the bottom is blackened and blistered.

Tomatoes will not hold their shape, so just move them around until all sides are blackened.

For bell shaped peppers, stand on both ends as well as sides.

Continue to turn, close lid and roast for 3-5 minutes (or more if needed) until they are completely blackened and blistered.  Remove from grill to a plate or bowl and cover with foil.  This steams them and allows the skins to separate easily.

Do something else for a while, and let them sit there.  20 minutes should be enough time.

Place one pepper on your work surface and begin to simply slip the skins off…

The skins will literally slide right off, there may be a few tiny areas where you’ll have to tug a wee bit.

Next, remove the stem and seed.  The stem will pull right out, then just use your fingers to scrape out the seeds.

I’m saving the red bell peppers to make soup later in the week, so I placed them in a freezer bag and tossed them in the freezer…

The three large tomatoes cooked down to a scan 1/2 cup of “meat”.  I’ll use this to make a small bit of marinara for a fish dish in a day or so.  Into the fridge it goes.

The Poblanos are the ones I am after tonight…I’ll chop them up and add to my Fire Roasted White Chicken Chili!