Hearty Turkey Chili

Another dish that comes to us from our southern neighbors. Chili, with it’s roots in Mexico. And it’s popularity across America. Chili is a contraction, Chili con carne is it’s correct name. The result of a hybrid of languages. Chilli, is from the ancient Nahautl language for the chili, and Con Carne is Spanish for “with meat”. And now we have a spicy beef stew. Well this one isn’t with beef but it does have meat. Read on for hearty turkey chili, my take on a classic.

A little history

Beef were brought to Mexico by the Spanish in the mid 16th century, so it can trace it’s history to that. There are some that argue it’s actually an American dish, however there is an account of a chili based stew from the 16th century in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, what is now Mexico City that could have been chili con carne. No matter it’s roots, it’s popularity grew in the mid 19th century, when “chili joints” popped up all around the northern Mexican and Texas region. And was brought to a Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, and it’s popularity, regional and cultural diversity grew. Now there are many variations of the original recipe, different meats, no meat, with or without beans, and varying degrees of heat.

Starting the build

I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel with this recipe. I eat a little healthier, so I use turkey, I like warmth, not heat, so I use ground red pepper flakes, not cayenne. I also use Cannellini beans, which are white kidney beans, which you’ll find in a lot of chili recipes. Chili started as a spicy beef stew, so that’s how I’ll start my version. A stew, and a good stew starts with a good base mirepoix. Onion, green pepper and garlic chopped fine and sautéed till cooked. That will create a good flavor base. To that I will add ground turkey. As I wander away from red meat, I’ve gone to turkey as a good substitute, especially ground turkey, the mixture of the white and dark meat has a good flavor. I’ll add that to the cooked vegetables, breaking it up as it cooks.

Cooking

Now for the spices. Well, chili powder is a good start, a mixture of seasonings that will add that “chili” flavor. Cumin, which is an ingredient of most Tex-Mex chilis. And rounding that out with ground red pepper flakes, this will add the warmth I’m looking for and not the heat I would get from cayenne. Let all those flavors start to come together. Now for the rest of the ingredients. Diced tomatoes, because I believe chili should have tomatoes. Tomato paste, this will add a little more tomato flavor, and add a little consistency to the dish. And Cannellini beans, this makes the chili hearty and filling. Chili started out as a poor mans dinner, it would have had to be filling and hearty, well, beans do that. Hence the hearty turkey chili name.

Now that all the ingredients are together, the only other ingredient is time. Well, this is a weeknight dinner, so, 1/2 hour will be fine, while the other parts of the meal are cooking. There’s a fast food joint that some guy named after his daughter. You know where I’m talking about. I used to get the baked potato with chili, and that’s how I’ve had my chili ever since, with potato. I will always prefer baked potatoes, but this is a weeknight dinner, I don’t have an hour or so to cook a potato. I’ll make plank potatoes on the grill, they’re really good.

You certainly don’t have to serve your chili with potatoes, in a bowl with some grated cheese is fine. No matter how you serve it, thank you for reading and enjoy your dinner.