Chicken Chili Verde

When I first saw this recipe I knew I just had to replicate it in our kitchen.  After all soups and stews and anything comforting during these harsh days of winter is what ticks all my boxes.  We had our first snowfall over the weekend, not too bad mind you, but it was snow all the same and much more predicted this coming weekend.  I’d like to call this a “stoup”, you know a stew and a soup coming together? It was so thick and nourishing with the addition of pinto beans, corn, poblano peppers, spinach and caramelized chicken.  A splash of prepared salsa verde adds a sharpness to this dish.  We made a weeknight meal out of this.

The above images show the browning or caramelization of the bite-size chicken pieces.  A bit of char on the poblano adds a great smoky flavor to the stoup.  I used the oven to give the poblano peppers that char, I set it at 350 degrees for about half an hour and turned it occasionally to let all sides blister).  I then put it in a plastic bag which then loosened the skin and was easier to peel.  Adding some of the seeds also rendered it a tad spicy.

• Servings: 6
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) cans no salt added pinto beans, rinsed and divided
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 cups chopped yellow onion
• 2 cups chopped poblano peppers (2 large)
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)
• 4 cups unsalted chicken stock or 32 oz carton
• 1 1/2 cups salsa verde
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cups frozen corn kernels
• 1 cup chopped spinach
• coarsely chopped fresh cilantro according to taste
• sour cream (optional)

Method

1. Mash a cup of beans in a small bowl with a masher and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large heavy pot over high heat.  Add chicken, cook until browned, turning occasionally 4-5 minutes.  Set aside. Add onion, poblanos and garlic (see above method to peel the poblano skin).  Cook until the onion is translucent and tender, about 4-5 minutes.
3. Add the remaining whole beans, the mashed beans, stock, salsa and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 3-5 minutes.  Stir in corn, spinach and cilantro.  Cook until the spinach is wilted, about 1 minute.  Serve with topped sour cream if desired.

Serve up with some warm tortillas and I promise your tummy will thank you.  This will be a regular rotation in our home for sure.  The Mexican flavors takes this “stoup” to a whole new level.  This recipe was adapted from EatingWell.com.