Turkey and Tomatillo Chili

Have you ever watched in dismay as your child (or spouse) picked out every single mushroom and bean sprout from the chicken stir fry you made or removed each strand of spinach from a pasta dish you served? If you’re starting to give up on getting your family to ingest anything that might be remotely good for them, then I really need to introduce you to the Sneaky Chef. Her name is Missy Chase Lapine and she’s written several books on hiding healthy foods in her family’s favorite meals.

Even before I went to an event where I heard the crafty cookbook author speak a couple of years ago, I had been sneaking healthy ingredients into my cooking and baking on a sporadic basis. For over a decade, I’ve added wheat germ and rolled oats to my chocolate chip cookies, and my boys love them. I’ve also successfully hidden tofu, bananas and rice milk along with some more obvious mixed berries in fruit smoothies, and blended Swiss chard into my soup stock with no one blinking an eyelash.

The Sneaky Chef is a little more brazen than I am though (I’m only the Inspired Chef!). If you go on her web site, you’ll see recipes like “Power Pizza,” which incorporates pureed sweet potato and carrots into its tomato sauce. I tasted that at the book reading and it was pretty darn good. More audacious is the recipe for “Brainy Brownies.” It’s got pureed raw baby spinach and frozen blueberries (yes, really!) in its “batter.” I’ve got to say, that one was a bit suspect and I couldn’t imagine pulling it off with my family (especially since I spat my sample out into a cup after one bite).

I forgot about the Sneaky Chef for a while, but she came back to me last week, channeled through my friend Vicky. I was complaining that whenever I made chili for dinner I had to prepare two versions of the meal, because Spencer (and Sam, when he’s home from college) won’t eat the kidney beans. Vicky said, “When I want my son Josh to eat lima beans, I puree them and add them to whatever I’m cooking.”

“Ahhh, that reminds me of the Sneaky Chef,” I said. “I should try that.”

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And, so I did. Yesterday I decided to make “Turkey and Tomatillo Chili,” which I based on a recipe I had torn out of the November/December 2009 issue of Clean Eating magazine. To begin with, there are the tomatillos, a relative of the tomato and provider of the tart taste that you find in a host of Mexican green sauces. Following the magazine’s recipe, I pureed these small green spheres, along with some chopped jalapenos and garlic, in a blender until smooth. (The original recipe called for chipotle peppers – smoked jalapenos - but I’ve had several bad experiences with those hot little numbers). Then I combined the mixture with browned ground turkey, sautéed onions, chicken broth, cumin, oregano and a bay leaf, and put them all in a slow cooker for four hours.

Later that day, I turned my attention to the white kidney beans that I needed to finish up the chili. Even though the recipe called for whole beans, I decided to try to fly them under my son’s radar by putting the beans in my blender, along with a big bunch of roughly chopped cilantro. When the mixture was nice and smooth I added it to the cooked chili. There was only one problem – while I didn’t have kidney beans poking out of the pot, what I did have was a ghoulish looking meal: as a result of the cilantro and tomatillos, what should have been a nice brownish-red chili now had a bright green sheen.

What to do? That is where my spices came to the rescue. While the original recipe called for mustard-brown cumin, I also added a teaspoon of pimenton, which is a Hispanic smoked paprika, bright red in color (you can also use Hungarian paprika in a pinch) and a healthy dose of rich red-brown chili powder. I must say I was extremely satisfied and relieved with the results. The original color, as well as the kidney beans, seemed to be well hidden by my earthy palette of spices. For some extra distraction I threw in a can of the called-for corn kernels and the chili was ready to go.












Pimenton

Now for the real test. Would Mikey, errr, I mean Spencer eat it? (You do remember that Life cereal commercial, don’t you?). I sat at the kitchen table waiting for him to take a bite and tried to act nonchalant. I noticed as he picked up his fork and took a bite. He didn’t seem disturbed. Would he continue eating the chili, or would my attempt at being sly be exposed? Spencer kept eating and finished his meal without a hitch. I felt triumphant, as if I had somehow accomplished something (exactly what, I don’t know). Bob, who came home a couple hours later, also ate the chili with no complaints, and in fact, complimented the meal.

Hmmm, maybe I should reconsider those “Brainy Brownies.”


Turkey and Tomatillo Chili
1 small jalapeno chili, ribbed, seeded and roughly chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound lean ground turkey
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
1 14-oz. can low sodium white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon pimenton (or smoked paprika)
1 teaspoon oregano
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream

Heat oil in a nonstick pan. Add turkey and onion and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon until meat is browned. Drain and discard fat, then transfer turkey mixture to a slow cooker.

Blend garlic, jalapeno chili and 1/4 cup water in a blender until finely chopped. Add tomatillos and 1/4 cup more water and blend until smooth. Pour into slow cooker; add bay leaf, cumin, oregano and chicken broth and stir until thoroughly combined. Cook in slow cooker on low heat for four hours.

Fifteen minutes before serving, place cilantro, white kidney beans, and 1/2 cup cold water in blender and puree. Stir into chili mixture. Add corn, pimenton/smoked paprika, and chili powder, then season with salt and pepper. Cook for another 15 minutes in slower cooker on low heat. Garnish with shredded cheese and/or sour cream.

Serves 3.