Quick Turkey Chili

This weekend, I broke my stubborn streak of refusing to do anything in the kitchen besides lazily throwing veggies into the oven to roast. Instead, while leafing through my new copy of Dinner: A Love Story, by Jenny Rosenstrach, I stumbled upon what looked like a ridiculously easy recipe for one of my favorite comfort foods, turkey chili. The directions amounted to all of six short sentences and I had almost all of the ingredients in my fridge and my pantry already, so I got down to it after a quick run to the TriBeCa greenmarket for some freshly ground turkey.

About 30 minutes later, I was sitting contentedly on my couch clutching a steaming bowl of seriously delicious turkey chili and eagerly perusing the book for more recipes like this one. The ease of the recipe really belies the goodness of it, which is pretty much quality numero uno in my list of things I want in all areas of life, but especially in my various stovetop projects. I've made a lot of turkey chilis in my day, but this one has just become my new go-to. Try it out! xo

Quick Turkey Chili
Serves 6 
Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
Few glugs of olive oil
1 pound ground turkey (dark meat is always preferable) or beef
Salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons chili powder
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (crucial)
1 14-ounce can black beans, drained

Directions:
Over medium-low heat, sauté the onion and garlic in the oil about 3 minutes. Turn up the heat to medium-high and brown the meat until it loses its pink color. Add salt, pepper, and the chili powder—get it sizzly so the spices get cooking—and then add the tomatoes and the remaining spices.

Turn down the heat, simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, and add the beans. Cook for another 5 minutes, or until the beans are warmed through.

Serve with white or brown rice and any combination of the following: avocado chunks, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped fresh cilantro, sour cream.

Turkey Chili

In Honolulu, where I grew up, there's a chain of restaurants called Zippy's that my friends and I frequented quite often. High-brow it wasn't, but it was a few notches above fast food and a lot of them were open 24/7, which came in handy for those late night meals to soak up the alcohol you weren't supposed to be drinking (sorry, mom!). They were known around the island for having the best beef chili served with a side of sticky white rice, which was my order of choice. It was so popular that they started shipping it everywhere in frozen packets, mainly, I suspect, for all the college students that had landed in the "mainland" and missed their chili fix like I did.

Even to this day, chili is one of my favorite comfort foods, and this recipe for a healthier version, made with turkey, is one of the best I've made. It comes from Alice's Tea Cup, a charming restaurant in Manhattan and is said to have a "cult following" among their clientele. Make a big batch of it this weekend--it's perfect hurricane food. The leftovers will taste even better after a day or two. xo

Turkey Chili
Adapted from Alice's Tea Cup
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 pounds ground turkey
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup finely chopped carrots (about 2 medium carrots)
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion (about 1 small onion)
1/2 cup finely chopped celery (about 1 large stalk celery)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
4 cups unseasoned tomato sauce (I used organic Muir Glen brand)
1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes (from one 14-ounce can)
1 15.5-ounce can black beans
1 15.5-ounce can navy beans
1 15.5-ounce can kidney beans
2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Directions:
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground turkey and saute until it is lightly browned but not burned, about 5-7 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, and set the turkey aside.

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large soup pot or Dutch oven, and saute the carrots, onions, celery, and garlic until softened, about 8-10 minutes (be careful not to burn them).

Add the tomato sauce and chopped tomatoes, bring to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Add all the beans to the pot and simmer for another 10 minutes. Add the turkey and cook for 20 minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for another 10 minutes. Serve hot.