Through the Cooking Glass

The Thanksgiving leftovers were devoured by my visiting family. I had not planned meals for most of this week depending on the fact that we generally have enough leftovers to last us for a week. What to do? I remembered that Shari likes a white bean chicken chili she’s had at Ruby Tuesday’s and a local coffee shop. The only leftovers we had were turkey. I had a small bag of cannellini beans in the pantry. This is what I came up with.

• 3 cups dry cannellini beans
• 1 cup chicken or turkey stock
• 1-2 cups leftover cooked chicken or turkey, diced
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 stalk celery, minced
• 2 tablespoons butter or lard (or bacon drippings of you have them)
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, seeded and minced
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste (I used about 12 twists if the grinder)

Pour simmering water over beans and soak overnight (12-24 hours). Add a strip of kombu seaweed for improved digestibility. Rinse thoroughly and cover with just enough water. Bring to a boil and skim. Add about 1 tablespoon of salt and cover. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook until tender, 2-4 hours. Add additional water as needed to keep the beans covered. Sauté onion, celery, and garlic in butter or lard until tender. Add vegetables and lard to the beans. Stir in remaining ingredients and cook covered for 1-2 hours. Leave off the lid if you want a thicker chili. Serve with crème fraîche or sour cream.