White Vegetable Chili 

(With chicken… or not)

Unilever, a huge international food processing company, has released a report recommending people switch to a plant based diet. While the report says all the right things about health and sustainability, my suspicion is that we are approaching a tipping point. A point at which the market for plant based foods has grown so substantially that the future of big food might just have to include plants… albeit highly processed plants. As a plant predominant eater, I appreciate the occasional plant based burger or ice cream bar, but these processed foods are not my foundation dishes.

What are my mainstays? It appears that I’m a relatively new breed of plant based eater, since many of the plant based recipes I find tend toward the mushy and bland. Or leave me ravenous half an hour after I’ve eaten. I’m searching for well-developed recipes using primarily whole food plant ingredients. Said dishes must be delicious: balanced, harmonious in taste and well seasoned, with depth of flavor and pleasing texture. I’m also pretty insistent that they contain the balance of protein, complex carb and fat that I’ve always required in my dietary selections. We are admittedly foodies in this house-piling a few vegetables atop a bowl of grain, however whole it may be, is not going to cut it. 

Which has left me to my own recipe development devices… but I am slowly amassing a repertoire of recipes that make meal planning feel possible. The fact that we are still omnivores is quite helpful. A small amount of meat or cheese can make an amazing difference in the taste and texture of a dish, demonstrated by the “flip the ratio” strategy I’m using today. Most entrees contain hefty amounts of animal protein with a few token veggies. But if I adjust dishes such that the vegetables provide the heft and the meat or cheese is the token, these recipes can be real winners. 

I love a good white chicken chili, but most feature large portions of chicken, a few white beans and a can of green chilies. My taste buds crave the particular essence of green chili, not the chicken. To flip the ratio, swap the chicken for onion, fennel, tomatillo and zucchini; increase the measure of creamy white beans, providing the protein heft; and wheat berries, to deliver both protein and a pop of texture. White miso and balsamic vinegar supply the depth.  When I want the chili to include chicken, I use chicken broth and add in a few ounces of cooked chicken. If not, we use “no-chicken broth” and skip the chicken. TBH, I’m happy with either version of white vegetable chili, as long as the smoky heat of green chili prevails.

 Before trying this, you should probably know that I crave the heat in just about everything I eat. What’s my desired level of heat on a scale of 1-5? 5. So I’ve been careful to moderate the heat in this recipe. Feel free to spice it up or down to your liking. I’m using a combination of fresh Hatch green chilies and Hatch chili powder. Hatch green chilies come quite specifically from Hatch, New Mexico, but they are basically the same as the Anaheim green chili, just with more heat. Anaheims are more readily available, and if need be, one can always use the little can of green chilies. The farmer’s market here has also spoiled my chili loving soul with the roasting stand, at which I can purchase freshly roasted chilies and chili powders of all varieties. However, Hatch green chili powder is available for order from various spice companies, and of course from the ever-ready Amazon. Increase the red pepper flakes if the Hatch powder doesn’t happen to reside in your spice drawer. 

I’ll be searching for hot weather dishes all too soon enough, but this soup warms me to my core on the chilly nights of a desert winter. I suspect it might do the same for you, wherever you happen to be spending your winter evenings.