But even with making soup nearly every Monday and often eating the leftovers for lunch throughout the week, sometimes there are other not-so-simple (or not so vegetarian/vegan) soups we like to eat. White Chicken “Chili” is one of those favorites. While I haven’t deviated much from the recipe I started with, over the years I have tweaked this dish to where we really like it a lot.

This recipe originated in a church cookbook from the Central Church of the Brethren (Roanoke, VA), published in 1993. It is credited to then-pastor David Yingling. I find it somewhat ironic that this recipe will have now been tweaked and shared by two different Brethren pastors! Even though it’s called chili it’s really more of a cheesy soup. However, the flavors are decidedly chili-like, so I’ll stick with the original nomenclature. Here’s my rendition of “White Chicken Chili”:

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients

5 Tbsp butter
1 medium 0nion, chopped
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
2-4 jalapeño peppers (to taste), chopped small
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp chipotle pepper powder (or cayenne, more or less to taste)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried sage OR 4-5 fresh sage leaves, pulverized fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup half and half or milk (works fine with either)
2 cups chicken broth or stock
1 (17 oz.) can Northern beans
8 oz block Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
~1 cup corn (fresh, frozen, or canned – by order of preference)

Optional garnishes:
Chopped fresh tomato
Sliced scallions / green onions
Fried sage leaves
Hot sauce (we like Frank’s Red Hot)

Instructions

1. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy-bottomed pot or saucepan (5 qt. minimum.) After butter has finished foaming, add onions, peppers, ginger, salt, and cumin. Sauté over medium heat until onions are translucent and a good fond is beginning to develop in the pan. Add the sage and stir to combine.
2. Move vegetables to the outer edges of the pot, clearing a space in the center. Add chicken, evenly distributed over the open area in the center. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes before turning the chicken pieces over. After another 2-3 minutes, stir vegetables and chicken to combine. (The chicken should be nearly cooked through.) Add the garlic, stir, and cook until garlic is fragrant – about 30 seconds. Remove the chicken / vegetable mixture from the pan.
3. There should be some fond left in the pan at this point – that is a good thing, don’t clean it out! Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in the pan over medium-low heat until foaming subsides. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Allow this roux to cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly and taking care not to let it darken beyond a golden brown.
4. While whisking, add milk or half and half. Continue to whisk over heat until smooth and combined, 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Return heat to medium and begin to add chicken broth in several increments, whisking to combine and waiting for the mixture to bubble after each addition.
5. Once all ingredients are well-blended, add the chicken & vegetable mixture back to the pot. Add the beans (and any liquid from the can) and the shredded cheese and stir until cheese has melted.
6. Cover and continue simmering over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes to allow the flavors to meld, stirring occasionally. Add corn and cook 2-3 more minutes (longer if using frozen) until corn is just cooked.
7. Serve while warm, topping with garnishes if desired.

As you might imagine, this is quite rich with all that butter and cheese. This recipe will make about 6 small bowls or 4 large bowls. Even for me one bowl is usually sufficient! It goes great with fresh cornbread.

Let me know if you have any questions or if you decide to give this a try! I’d love to know how it turns out and what you think.

1. Roma Tomatoes

We absolutely love Roma tomatoes. Last year we had four Roma plants and at one point wound up harvesting about 140 tomatoes over the course of three days. This year we decided to scale back to two Romas instead of four. Both of us really like the convenient size of Romas and the fact that they very rarely taste mealy. We started with two small potted Romas from Lowes.

2. Early Girl Tomatoes

Like the Romas, last year we also planted four Early Girls as well. Yes, you’ve done the math right: last year we had eight tomato plants crammed into a roughly 2′x8′ section of our little garden. Crowded didn’t even begin to describe it. This year we’re doing two Early Girls to go with our Romas. Last year’s Early Girls didn’t end up being all that early, the Romas actually were ready for harvest first, however we really liked the taste and size of the Early Girls so we’re trying them again this year. Our two Early Girls also came in the form of small pots from Lowes.

3. Sweet Green Bell Peppers

Between the 8 tomato plants and a hill of yellow squash that grew to over 4′ tall last year, our green peppers never really had a chance. This year we’ve got two sweet green bell pepper plants with a corner all to themselves, so hopefully we’ll get more than the 5 or 6 peppers we got all last year.  Once again these were started from small plants from Lowes.

4. Poblano Peppers

This is the biggest experiment we’ve got going in our garden this year. I absolutely love Poblano peppers for using in chili, so the last time I cooked chili I made sure to save some Poblano seeds. I inadvertently touched my face after handling the seeds, resulting in a mild chemical burn, so hopefully this experiment will turn out to be worth all the trouble! I dried the seeds for a couple weeks and we’ve planted quite a few in the corner opposite the bell peppers, so we’ll be waiting anxiously to see if they sprout in the next couple weeks.

5. Mesclun Greens

As we went to begin preparing the soil for this year’s gardening we realized we had a handful of mesclun greens sprouts that must have been left over from last year. We carefully removed them before turning over the soil and I transplanted 9 or 10 of them back into the garden when we were done. We’ll see how they do. Hopefully this will mean our first garden salad of the year will come early this year!

Has anyone else started their garden yet this year? If so, what are have you planted? I’ll have to post again in the next few days once we get everything else in the ground.