Receta White Chili; Weird Dogs
It's actually more of an Olive Drab Chili, but will get to that in a minute.
Are all pets weird or do mine have the monopoly on that trait?
After Sedi (German Shepherd) had her stroke she seemed to become a braver dog.
It was rather nice.
I could go about my day without a second thought to where she was and did I remember to close the gate in case she got out when a bell went off.
She and Emma (the Pyreneen mastiff) slept like good little dogs on their respective beds most of the day.
A week ago that changed.
Sedi is not only back to running from the microwave, she takes off when I open the refrigerator and even acts skittish when I open the pantry - where doggie treats are stored.
Instead of sleeping on her bed she now sleeps on the doormat in front of the door. The wet, cold, dirty door mat.
And speaking of doors....
To all of you dog owners out there - Do your dogs understand how doors work?
My two get their noses right up tight to the door and wait for it to magically become open.
Then I, the magician, come along.
Because the door opens in (as all European doors do - how else could one secure the shutters?) we then go through the back-up, back-up, back-up routine as they try, unsuccessfully to force their way through the tiniest crack as I try, unsuccessfully, to force the door open against their noses.
Eventually the door is opened.
Then they act like old, lost tourists getting off an escalator.....they come to a dead stop.
Right in the middle of the door; letting hot air out and cold air in.
I think they lost what few wits they had whilst in the mountains.
They do remember to come and give me cuddles on a regular basis.....
Now about the Olive Drab Chili.
Back in July, when it was summer, I did a post about freezing courgette (zucchini).
Now I have to think of ways to use it....
The set-up:
I love soup of any and every kind.
Mon mari likes soup, but doesn't like the 'broth' of stock-based soup. He eats all the chunks and ignores the broth.
I wanted to make the 'White Chili' I was seeing on blogs over the holidays.
The solution:
Use the courgette soup I had frozen to thicken the stock.
The verdict:
Nutritious and Delicious! Definitely a keeper - but it wasn't 'white'.
White Chili (or Olive Drab)
- 2 cups dried white beans cooked in water with 4 bay leaves and 4 cloves of garlic
- or 5 cups canned cannellini beans, drained and rinse
- 4 cups puréed courgette soup
- 4 cups chicken stock or bean cooking liquid
- 2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
- 1 green pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 large onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 ribs celery
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 4oz green chiles - or something hotter
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp oregano
green Tabasco
To cook dried beans: Put beans in a large pot, cover with water and allow to soak for at least 5 hours. Drain and cover with fresh water. Bring beans to a boil over medium heat and simmer partially covered for 20 minutes. Drain and cover with fresh water by 2 inches. Add bay leaves, whole, peeled garlic and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, partially covered until beans are tender, 60 - 90 minutes. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid; discarding bay leaves and garlic.
The chili: Cut chicken into small pieces and poach in chicken stock.
Chop onion, peppers, celery. Mince garlic. Open and chop chiles.
Heat oil in soup pot. Add chili powder and sauté. Add onion, celery and peppers; sauté 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 5 minutes longer. Add chicken, poaching liquid, puréed courgette, oregano, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Add green chiles and simmer 10 minutes longer. Taste; add as much green Tabasco as you like. Serve.
Note: I used the bean cooking liquid with 2 tbs chicken base added in place of the chicken stock.
There you have it: Olive Drab Chili