Turkey chili verde with white beans
They say you teach best what you most need to learn, and when it comes to entertaining, I know exactly what lesson I’m working on: Keep it simple. That is not, let’s say, my strong suit. The last big party I hosted was for 150 people, and it took six hired helpers and more than that in friends to put together a “little taco spread” that spanned a 12-foot buffet table. It was a fun party, and the food was delicious (if I do say so myself). But it was no small task.
When I look back at that night, the moment that really sticks in my mind was the end of it, when we sat around — those friends who’d helped, a few organizers from the charity the party was benefiting and the random (but welcome) stragglers — in my kitchen, naturally, and ate quesadillas.
These weren’t fancy quesadillas, just white melted cheese sandwiched between warm, griddled, flour tortillas that we’d had delivered from a nearby taquerìa. We had a stack of 20 of them, 2 feet high, in the center of the table, each one served on a paper plate wrapped in foil that we unwrapped and tore apart, dipped in salsa or opened up to stuff with pickled jalapeño peppers that came in little Styrofoam containers along with the quesadillas. The moment was relaxed, spontaneous, inviting, and the food, the epitome of simple, was absolutely delicious.
This, for me, is the recipe for a perfect dinner party.
Determined to change my ways, I decided to create a dinner party that took place in the kitchen with those quesadillas as the main event. Chili seemed obvious as the main dish. And, in another unprecedented attempt at keeping it simple, I decided not to serve pork or beef, because not everybody eats pork or beef.
I landed on turkey, but instead of making regular chili and just substituting turkey for the beef (the idea of tomato with turkey just didn’t appeal to me), I wanted to make a turkey chili that really took into consideration the flavor of the bird. I got lost for a while down an Italian road where no chili maker wants to find herself until Carolynn showed me the way back with the bright idea to turn it into chile verde. I’d had pork chile verde but never seen turkey treated that way. It turned out to be delicious.
I always have to have a salad, no matter how pared down a menu, and I knew that a Caesar was the only thing to serve with my chili spread. First, it originated in Tijuana, so in my mind it goes with the border-inspired chili meal. What’s more, the way I make Caesar salad (and the way it was originally made), the romaine leaves are left whole, not chopped, so you can easily pick them up and eat them with your hands. Still, I make it in batches. When the bowl starts to run low, I toss together some more salad. Note: Keeping it simple does not mean lowering your standards!
That’s it. That’s the 2014 Perfect Holiday Dinner Party. Do no more. OK … if you really want to go all out, you can stop by a bakery and pick up some Mexican wedding cakes, which aren’t cakes at all but round cookies made of ground pecans or walnuts and covered in powdered sugar that goes all over your face and your dress and the floor when you bite into one. Serve them with a pile of napkins (it’ll give you a reason to buy those pretty little paper napkins they sell at Christmastime).
Invite friends, including the 5-year olds. (They’ll love the food!) Open a bottle of red wine. Get out your spoons. Add a splash of water if the chili looks dry or a can of beans if it’s looking like it might not be enough. Relax, and stir.
Beans
Drain the beans and put them in a large saucepan. Add enough water to just cover them. Wrap the garlic, carrot, celery, chile pods, thyme, sage and bay leaves in a doubled piece of cheesecloth and tie it closed with kitchen twine. Add the bundle and the onion to the pot with the beans, stir in the olive oil and salt, and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and very gently simmer the beans, stirring from time to time, until they are very tender and creamy, adding more water to the pot if the beans begin to be exposed, about 1 to 2 hours (timing will vary depending on the type and age of the beans). Taste the beans for doneness; they should be creamy in texture without any chalkiness or dryness. Remove from heat, discard the cheesecloth bundle and onion, and set the beans aside to cool in the cooking liquid.
Chili
Put the tomatillos in a single layer in a cast iron skillet (do this in batches if needed) over medium-high heat and scatter the garlic cloves around them wherever there is room in the pan. Toast the tomatillos, turning as needed, until they are charred on all sides and bursting, releasing their liquid. The garlic should be soft on the inside; move the garlic as needed to cooler spots on the pan so the cloves can cook and soften without burning. Remove the garlic cloves from the pan and set aside until they’re cool enough to touch, then peel them. Remove the tomatillos from the pan as they’re done and put them on a plate or in a bowl to cool slightly before puréeing them.
Increase the heat under the skillet to high and heat until the pan is searing hot. Add the chiles (in batches if needed) and roast until charred on all sides. Place the chiles in a sealed plastic bag to steam until cool enough to handle, then rub off the peels and remove the cores and seeds (do not rinse the chiles, as this will remove flavor).
Tear off the leafy portion of the cilantro bunches and discard the long stems. (The short, delicate stems that have leaves on the ends of them are fine.) In the bowl of a blender (do this in batches as needed), purée the tomatillos, chiles and garlic. Pulse the blender a few times, then add the cilantro and purée until smooth. Set aside.
In a large Dutch oven or another heavy-bottomed pot, add the oil and heat it over medium-high heat until hot. Add the turkey, sprinkle it with 2 teaspoons of the salt and cook for about 5 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until only a tiny bit of pink, raw meat is visible. Add the onions, leeks and celery. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 teaspoons of salt and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables soften but don’t brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir in the the puréed charred vegetables, the beans and 2 cups of the bean cooking liquid. Add enough chicken broth to just cover the chili. Reduce the heat and gently simmer the chili until it is thick and soupy (texture of rich, thick chili), adding additional bean liquid and/or chicken broth to the pot as necessary to keep the chili covered with liquid, about 2 hours. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if desired.
Set aside to cool, then cover and refrigerate if not serving right away. The chili will continue to thicken as it sits; add additional liquid when reheating as desired. Serve the chili with crema, queso fresco and green onion on the side for garnishing.
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