Flavorful & Full of Fiber Chili

Pumpkin Chicken Chili

Main

I like Pumpkin but I am not one of those people who stands in line the first day Starbucks rolls out its Pumpkin Spice Latte (that would be my late sister-in-law). The Washington Post recently had a list of its top-30 all-time reader favorite recipes, which included a recipe for Pumpkin Chicken Chili. I probably would not have considered this recipe (pumpkin and chicken?) except that I have been looking for ways to add more fiber to our diet. I took a peek at the ingredient list and was intrigued.

I pitched this recipe to Tom by telling him not to make a face until he tasted it. After all he loves Pumpkin Tuscan Risotto (wow, I need to redo that post, terrible photos), however he never eats pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, preferring mincemeat pie (or Dori’s Mincemeat Oatmeal Bar Cookies with Bourbon Glaze).

What I like most about this recipe is its flexibility. Don’t have ground chicken or don’t like it? Substitute ground beef, pork, turkey or spicy Italian Sausage. Or make it vegetarian by adding an additional can of beans or diced sweet potatoes. Speaking of beans, this recipe uses white beans but you can easily substitute with chickpeas, pinto, kidney or black beans.

As far as the heat of the dish, you can adjust that as well. The recipe calls for poblanos which are so mild I don’t even know how they can be called chili peppers. I used Serrano peppers, but left out the seeds. We like heat in our chili, so next time I will leave the seeds in for more heat or add some red pepper flakes.

For context, the Scoville heat scale (SHU) rates poblanos at a wimpy 1,500 (just above a bell pepper!), Jalapeno peppers at 2,000 to 8,000 and a serrano at 10,000 to 25,000. And the hottest pepper in the world? Currently it is the Chili Pepper X at 2.69 million SHU (yes, million!). I implore you NOT to use that pepper!!

As usual, I made a few tiny adjustments to the recipe. First, this recipe needed salt. Start with 2 teaspoons and adjust to taste from there. Pumpkin is pretty bland, so I increased the amount of cinnamon and allspice because they really shine in this spice mix. Lastly, if you have it, use fire-roasted tomatoes preferably with green chiles.

Finally, garnish with any and all of your favorite chili toppings … sour cream, grated cheese, cilantro, green onions, diced avocado and I highly recommend, tortilla strips. Lots of tortilla strips!

Corn bread would pair perfectly with this too. Check out my Skillet Hatch Chile Cornbread.

A tasty, flexible, easy chili recipe. Just what you need to upscale your chili game.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
2 poblano, jalapeno or serrano chiles, seeded and diced (see note)
1 medium orange bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 large red onion, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground chicken

2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup canned 100% pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 (15-ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups low salt chicken broth
1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt (plus more to taste)
1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice

Optional garnishes:
Tortilla strips
Chopped fresh cilantro
Diced avocado
Thinly sliced scallions
Sour cream

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk the spices (chili powder, cumin, black pepper, salt, paprika, cinnamon and allspice) together.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, peppers and garlic and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned. About 10 minutes.

Stir in the remaining ingredients (except the spices and garnishes) and bring to a boil, uncovered. Once boiling, reduce heat and stir in the spices. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Season to taste with kosher salt. Garnish with your chili favorites.

8-10 servings

Sealed in an airtight container leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Recipe lightly adapted from Washington Post

The post Pumpkin Chicken Chili appeared first on .