White Chicky Chili

I'm lucky to have almost in-laws whose green thumbs and prolific garden keep me supplied with all sorts of chiles, tomatoes, zuchinnis, squashes, and pumpkins, among other goodies.  Combined with my CSA share, I always have a fridge stocked full of veggies in the summer that give me an "exciting" challenge every night...exciting if you're a nerd, like me, or if you, also like me, must fight the urge to deep-fry and cover in cheese everything in sight...

As the days of "what do I do with 10 zucchini" draw nearer, I'm going to post a few recipes today that feature, let's say, creative uses for this otherwise bland veg.  Plus, I want to post a bunch of my original and adapted recipes up here so I  have a good way to locate them...right now they're in an amalgamation of hard drives, google documents, work computers, and scraps of stained, crumpled-up paper.  Not the most conducive to cooking when you're uninspired and looking for "that one thing I made that one time..."

This was an unqualified success.  Born in a late summer moment of desperation, when I had 3 kinds of chiles from the garden, pounds and pounds of zucchini from both the garden and the farm, a crisper drawer full of greens that were past wilted, and a few chicken odds n ends...this became a meal we still talk about, and every time I go out to A's parent's house I scout the garden eagerly awaiting the budding peppers.  Recipe after the jump.

White Chicken Chili

 Cooking the chicken in the stock makes it richer and thicker, as does using homemade stock, so this comes out a lot more unctuous than using plain ol’ chicken broth.

Ingredients

2 tsp olive oil

Chicken – bone-in, skin-on, amount to taste or on hand (used 1 gigantic thigh & normal leg)
1 cup chopped onion (used leek-like wild onions)
3 cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ cups chopped zucchini
1 seeded jalapeño pepper, chopped
1 poblano pepper, chopped

1 anaheim pepper, chopped
2/3 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian seasoning
2 cans white or pinto beans, 1 undrained and 1 drained.
4 cups chicken broth (or more – enough to make initial mixture soupy, not stewy)
2 cups chard or spinach, the first chopped, the second loosely packed
1/2 cup grated low-fat Monterey Jack or white cheddar cheese

Procedure

1. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper and sear on all sides, starting with the skin side down.  Remove from skillet and set aside

2.  Add onion to skilled (add more oil if using skinless chicken) and cook until starting to soften, about 4 minutes. Mix in the garlic, chile peppers, zucchini, cumin, and oregano; cook the mixture until tender, about 5 minutes. Mix in the chicken broth and white beans.  Return chicken to the pot (it will poach in the broth).  Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer until chicken is cooked, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. At the end of 20 minutes or when chicken is cooked through, remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.  Remove skin and discard.  Remove meat from bones and shred chicken using fingers or 2 forks.  Return to pot along with greens of choice; stir and allow to cook for another 10 minutes to re-warm chicken and cook greens.

4. Serve topped with grated cheese, cilantro, chopped fresh tomato, salsa, chopped scallions, and/or guacamole if you like, or have fresh warmed flour tortillas or bread on the side.