Saturday Chef's Turkey Black Bean Chili

Like Picasso, I go through periods where I am obsessed with one ingredient.  I’ll put it in everything, much to the annoyance of anyone who frequently eats my food.  

DISCLAIMER: Before I continue, please don’t think that I’m saying that I cook like Picasso painted.  I’m not delusional.  Okay, back to the blog.

I just want to explore the possibilities of new ingredients, broaden my culinary horizons.  And I do so with every new vegetable or spice I experiment with.  

Picasso had his blue period; I had my black bean period. 

I discovered the magic beans years ago and put them in everything from salads to soups to shrimp nachos.  A few months ago, I found a recipe for slow-cooker black bean chili while trolling my favorite foodie sites.  It had tons of great reviews and seemed pretty simple, so I decided to make an attempt.  It was an unmitigated disaster.  I’m not one to cry over bad chili, but I was tempted, mainly because I acted against my better judgment and didn’t rinse the beans.  The recipe said not to.  Epic mistake, and I knew better.  Saturday Chef Rule #8: Trust your instincts!  Listen to that voice inside your head. 

I loved the idea of black bean chili with ground turkey, and the flavors were there, so I did a major overall.  I traded the slow cooker for my trusty Dutch oven.  I rinsed each can of black beans so thoroughly they lightened in color.  I added more vegetables.  After a lot of tweaking and dozens of cans of black beans, I finally got a chili I love.  It’s flavorful, but not overly spicy.  It’s mild enough that my eight-year-old niece will gobble up two bowls of it.  In fact, it was her idea to garnish it with cheddar cheese, a future foodie, that one.  This is a tight, delicious, smooth chili, thanks to the black beans and ground turkey (another obsession of mine).  It’s perfect on its own or you can put it on nachos or a hot dog or anything you want. 

So start your black bean period, and try out this chili for Cinco de Mayo or, ya know, Tuesday. 

Turkey Black Bean Chili

1 lb. ground turkey (85/15 mix)

1 yellow onion, minced

2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups of bell peppers, red, yellow, orange, green, chopped*

1 teaspoon dried basil (or 5 to 8 fresh basil leaves, chopped)

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

3 15oz cans of black beans, thoroughly rinsed

1 14oz can of diced tomatoes and juice

3 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

½ tablespoon chili powder

1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, divided

Salt, pepper

Add ground turkey to hot, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Season lightly with seasoning salt or salt and pepper.  Cook until, stirring often, until turkey is nearly cooked through.  Place in bowl and set aside. 

In the same pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  When hot, add minced onions.  Season lightly with salt and pepper.  Sautee onions until they are just beginning to turn golden brown, about 5 minutes.  Add bell peppers and minced garlic.  Cook for about 2 minutes.  Add the can of diced tomatoes and juices, and tomato paste.  Stir and cook until tomatoes are heated through, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the well-rinsed black beans, cooked ground turkey and enough  broth to just cover the mixture, about 3 cups.  Stir to combine.  Season with chili powder, dried oregano, dried basil, salt and pepper.

Stir to combine and cook until chili begins to boil.  Add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.  Reduce heat to low.  Simmer partially covered for 30 minutes.  I just crack the lid a little bit to let steam escape, and the flavors concentrate.

After 30 minutes, stir, taste and adjust seasonings as needed.  Simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Chili should be tightening up.  Taste once more and add remaining tablespoon of vinegar and cook for 10 more minutes, uncovered.  Plate and garnish with sour cream or cheddar cheese.  Enjoy! 

*Vegetarian option:  Use vegetable broth instead of chicken and add one can of rinsed chick peas instead of turkey.

Saturday Chef Original: Quick Breakfast Hash

When I was a child, I was a meat-and-potatoes-girl. While my friends and cousins clamored for Happy Meals and fish sticks, my favorite meal was Mary's Kitchen Corned Beef Hash, green beans and toast with grape jelly. Obviously, it was a rare treat as canned corned beef hash is an eventual heart attack in a can, but it was worth it. The foodie in me hates to admit that it still is.

Unfortunately, now it is harder to eat my beloved hash without bouts of panicked guilt and chest pains that are probably more hypochondria than physiology; thus I created a recipe that is a scrumptious substitute and thankfully anxiety-free.

This recipes is extremely versatile. I have made it with both ground turkey and ground veal. Although, since I’m sure most of you still have twelve pounds of turkey in the fridge, you probably want to try the veal.


Ingredients

1 lb. ground turkey or veal
1/3 to 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
Olive Oil
1 to 1 ½ pounds baby red potatoes, cubed
Parsley (optional)
Seasoning Salt, Pepper

Cube red potatoes in small, uniform pieces rinse thoroughly in cold water. Place in pot cover slightly with water. Add pot to heat and boil.

Chop onions. In a separate skillet over medium high heat, sauté onions in a drizzle of olive oil for about 2 minutes. Add ground meat, and use wooden spoon to stir and break apart. Season as you wish. Add a handful of fresh parsley or parsley flakes for color. Cook until meat is no longer pink. Remove from heat.

Boil potatoes until slightly soft, about 4-6 minutes. Drain thoroughly. Pour potatoes in the largest skillet you have, and add a bit more oil. Season with seasoning salt and pepper. Cook for two minutes.

Add meat mixture and a bit more oil, pressing down with the back of wooden spoon to brown. After 2 minutes, stir. Repeat process 2 or 3 more times or until meat is done and a slight crust develops. Season to taste.

Serve with over-easy egg and toast.

*Note: It is always better to have more potatoes than hash. The potatoes will degrade when they are soft. It also tastes even better the next day.

Coming Soon: A Very Foodie Christmas; Edible Gift Ideas for Your Foodie Friends!

Turkey Meatball Soup: A Collaborative Recipe

In my first post, I mentioned that I learned how to cook from Rachel Ray and Giada de Laurentiis, celebrity chefs on The Food Network. One of the first things I made was Turkey Meatball and Tortelini Soup. It was a hearty meal and a bowl and something I could make to order in less than 20 minutes. It was a Giada recipe, but Rachel taught me that cooking is an inspired collaboration. Ingredients work together to make colorful flavors. And sometimes, recipes can be tweaked and swapped with others to create a wonderful meal.

Since I started this blog, I have been hit by so many food memories that I want to share, and suddenly, I wanted that soup, but didn't want to add the pasta because it absorbs the broth. I mixed a recipe for Rachel Ray's Mini Meatball Soup with from one from Gourmet Magazine found at epicurious.com, and tweaked it for my cooking style: added leeks when I didn't have enough onions; used fresh ground turkey to make meatballs instead of store-bought ones; mixed open containers of chicken and vegetable broth in the fridge; called my sister for advice when I didn't want to sautee the meatballs (she suggested broiling). Little did I know, I was stumbling on perfection, in soup form.

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1/3 cup large onion, chopped
1/2 cup leeks, sliced (pale green, white parts only)
2 cups baby carrots, sliced in thin, lengthwise strips
6 cups of low sodium chicken and/or vegetable broth
1 pound ground turkey
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 egg
1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 14 oz can White Beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 block frozen spinach or 5 oz of washed fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese

Pepper

Salt

Chop and slice all vegetables. Place a large dutch oven over medium-high heat and add olive oil. When oil is hot, add onions and leeks, and sautée until you can smell onions, about 2 minutes. Add carrots and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Add broth, season, reduce heat to medium-low and cover.

Position oven rack to the second highest position in oven. Turn on broiler.

In a separate bowl, combine ground turkey, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, seasoning salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly with hands. Meatball mixture should be wet and loose. Form into small balls, about an 1-inch in diameter or smaller, if you wish, and place on a greased cooking sheet. Broil until lightly browned, 3-5 minutes depending on your oven. This step is just add color and keep the meatballs from falling apart in the soup. They will still be mostly raw.

Broth will eventually boil while you mix and form the meatballs, and the vegetables should be somewhat soft. Stir occasionally. Add in meatballs to broth, cover and simmer until meatballs are done, about 7-10 minutes. Add white beans and spinach. When both are heated through, add parmesan cheese, season for taste, remove from heat.

Serve immediately with bread or a nice sandwich.