Big on comfort, easy on the heat: Tomatillo Chicken/Turkey Chili

The traditional bowl of red turns green and lightens up, as tomatillos replace tomatoes and chicken and turkey stand in for beef. Recipe below.

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]C[/su_dropcap]hili. For many, it’s over-the-top flavor pyrotechnics. Or “I dare you” fiery hot. To us, chili is comfort food. Like a good stew or soup. Subtle complexity rather than giant flavors, heartily satisfying. You know, comforting. This tomatillo-based turkey/chicken chili checks all those boxes and then some.

Tomatillos, so-called Mexican green tomatoes, are the key ingredient in salsa verde. They bring a lively, lemony taste to this chili. Canned green chiles and an entire jalapeño pepper add their own flavor to this with surprisingly little heat. Four spices—cumin, chili powder, coriander and oregano—help build the complexity without taking over. And the mix of ground turkey and bite-sized chicken pieces layer in textures and meaty goodness.

Print Pin

Tomatillo Chicken/Turkey Chili

The traditional bowl of red turns green and lightens up, as tomatillos replace tomatoes and chicken and turkey stand in for beef.

Servings 4 (or 5)

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh tomatillos (see Kitchen Notes)
• 1 large jalapeño pepper, chopped, seeds and all
• 2 4- ounce cans green chiles (ours were diced)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more, if needed
• 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces (see Kitchen Notes)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 4 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder (we used New Mexican)
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1-1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
• 3 or 4 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (see Kitchen Notes)
• chopped fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)

Instructions

• Peel, rinse, core and quarter tomatillos. In a food processor, process tomatillos, jalapeño pepper and canned green chiles until smooth. You'll probably have to do two batches. Set aside.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, deep sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium and sweat onion, drizzling in more oil, if needed. Stir frequently to avoid browning and cook until softened 4 to 5 minutes.
• Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add ground turkey, breaking up with a wooden spoon and stirring to combine with aromatics. Sprinkle cumin, chili powder, coriander and oregano over turkey and stir to combine. Continue cooking until turkey is mostly cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add tomatillo sauce and chicken broth to pan, stirring to combine. Stir in cannellini beans and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for at least 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until flavors have melded together nicely. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
• You can serve it now, garnishing with chopped cilantro, if you like. But if you chill it overnight and reheat it, the flavors will really develop.

Kitchen Notes

Finding—and selecting—tomatillos. Depending on where you live, tomatillos may be available in some supermarkets. But you’ll most reliably find them in specialty grocery stores catering to Latino customers. And though they come in a number of colors, you're most likely to find green ones. They come in many sizes, often in the same bin at the store, and that's fine. You want them to feel nice and firm when you squeeze them. Next, for any that are still in their husks, peel a little back to make sure there are no blemishes lurking.

That's a meaty dish. If half a pound of chicken thighs and a pound of ground turkey seems a little too meaty, only use half a pound of turkey. But by all means, use both. The ground turkey provides that typical chili texture, and the bites of chicken are a nice addition.

That's a lot of beans. We like plenty of beans in our chili. A great flavor and good for you. I used three cans for this recipe, and Marion thought it could use a fourth. You can judge depending on how you like your chili. Don't use fewer than two cans, though—that's just wrong.