A couple weeks ago at the farmers market, I bought a couple pounds of fresh navy beans. Something that I discovered being a member of a CSA, was that fresh "dried" beans are so much better than beans from the grocery store!!!! You don't even have to soak them. I even talked mom into buying some. Since I went to Sam's Club the other day, I had purchased a rotisserie chicken ($4.99 for a very large bird!). So, this morning, I decided to make white chicken chili. Of course, it helps if you check to make sure you have all the ingredients! But when I looked in my cupboard, I didn't have green chiles. So, I looked in my pantry and found a jar of medium hot Hungarian peppers (also from my CSA). I've actually had them set aside because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them. I figured they would be a good substitute. Well, it only took an hour of simmering for the beans to cook and the peppers were better than green chiles!
White Chicken Chili
- 1 lb fresh "dried" navy beans*
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium sweet onion*
- 4 medium hot Hungarian peppers**
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 3 cups shredded chicken breast
- 1 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Rinse the beans and sort. Place in a large Dutch oven and add chicken stock. Bring to a boil; then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook. While beans are cooking, chop onions and peppers. Heat olive oil in large skillet; add onions and saute until they become translucent. Add the peppers, garlic and chickens and heat through. Add these to the soup. Add seasonings. Bring to a boil; cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until beans are cooked. Add water as necessary.
*Farmers market ingredients
**CSA ingredients