Turkey Chili

Chili is one of my favorite things to make: it's hearty, comforting, and you can cook your whole dinner in one pot. But perhaps most importantly, it affords you an opportunity to make corn bread.

This is a fairly standard turkey chili recipe, except that you add your ground turkey in two separate batches. The first half is browned along with the onions and pepper. Once you've added your tomatoes and let the chili simmer for about an hour, you drop the rest of the turkey in, in small chunks, and then simmer it some more. This method results in a slow-simmered, yet still chunky, chili.

We don't make our chili too hot around here, but you can add more cayenne and/or red pepper flakes if you're feeling spicy. And don't forget the toppings! This recipe recommends serving your chili with lime wedges (a different but tasty addition). I'm partial to a little bit of cheese, cilantro, and avocado as well.

Turkey Chili

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup)

1 small red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoons ground coriander

pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
pinch cayenne pepper
1 pound 93 percent lean ground turkey
1 (15.5-ounce) can dark red kidney beans , drained and rinsed

1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes , with juice

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

Table salt

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed nonreactive Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onions, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, pepper flakes, oregano, and cayenne; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add half the turkey; cook, breaking up pieces with wooden spoon, until no longer pink and just beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Add beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and 1 teaspoon salt; bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Pat remaining 1 pound turkey together into ball, then pinch off teaspoon-sized pieces of meat and stir into chili. Continue to simmer about 40 minutes longer, stirring occasionally (if chili begins to stick to bottom of pot, stir in 1/2 cup water and continue to simmer), until turkey is tender and chili is dark and slightly thickened. Adjust seasoning with additional salt. Serve with lime wedges and condiments if desired.

Makes 4 servings.

Download a printable recipe

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