This past Sunday my parents held their annual neighborhood szalonna roast. Cooking a rind of bacon fat over an open grill is a traditional Hungarian meal that my grandfather prepared late every summer once his garden was producing ripe tomatoes and peppers. I don’t know how it happened–maybe I was the only one interested in helping-out–but I’m the one he passed the torch/fork to so now I’m the one cooking for 20-30 of my parents’ neighbors every summer. It’s not a complaint. I love any opportunity to cook.
Anyway, that’s the set-up for how I ended-up at my parents’ home this past Labor Day weekend. Since my mom and I like to cook together, we tend to trade the foodie magazines that we acquire between each visit. The morning after the event she and I were looking through a Cook’s Illustrated 25th anniversary compilation magazine I’d just bought, and, given the unusually chilly weather we were experiencing in early September, the white chicken chili recipe sounded great. We both decided to make it and I shopped for it on the return home.
Turns-out she ended-up having to go out to dinner for some reason, but I went ahead and made a 1/2 recipe thinking the full recipe would be too much. It was a mistake because it was so good I must have eaten half the batch in the first sitting.
It never ceases to amaze me how such a simple collection of ingredients can produce rich and hearty flavors. The only salt I contributed to the pot was what was used to season the chicken and the tiny bit that went along with the spices (though, the low sodium canned chicken broth had salt in it). All of the flavor came from the fond produced during the browning of the chicken, followed by the braising of the spices and peppers with the chicken, and finally the finishing herbs and a little lime juice.
My plan is to make this for my brother’s family this coming Sunday when I’ll visit to watch the football game with them. With any luck, the pot will be done and ready to go before my Browns are losing handily to the Steelers, at which point I’d probably have lost my appetite… if I didn’t know how great that dinner was going to be, that is.
Links
- Cook’s Illustrated Site (Subscription Needed)
- The Recipe on Epicurious.com
Image Gallery
- 20170905-06-Chiles The chiles and a Great Lakes Brewing Co seasonal beer.
- 20170905-08-Slicing-Chiles Prepping the chiles and onion for the processor.
- 20170905-09-Minced-Chiles Pulsed chiles and onions.
- 20170905-12-Browning-Chicken Chicken breasts browned in pot.
- 20170905-14-Adding-Blended Onions and chiles after braising and having processed beans added.
- 20170905-17-Cooking-Chicken Chicken braising in the pot.
- 20170905-18-Final-Ingredients Preparing the finishing ingredients.
- 20170905-21-Shredding-Chicken Shredding the chicken.
- 20170905-22-Final-Chili The final bit of cooking.
- 20170905-23-Plating Plating and ready to eat.
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