Street Corn Chicken Chili
I’m back on the hunt for quick, tasty dinners to add into the weekly meal rotation. With spring officially here; along with it comes the spring sports schedule (hello two teenagers playing a sport right now), a yard in desperate need of attention, a garden to plan and prepare for and all the usual day to day life things like those pesky jobs and school and occasionally running a vacuum and catching up on the never-ending, only getting bigger pile of laundry.
After exhausting a few of our tried-and-true go to recipes this winter (if I make stir fry one more time there will be a mutiny), I was poking around the internet looking for recipes to spark my interest. I paged through a few of my cookbooks over the weekend, but nothing jumped out to inspire me.
I was asking my hungry teenagers what sounded good for dinner and one of them mentioned enchiladas and the other said chili. That got the wheels turning a little bit and I decided a white bean chicken chili was the common ground between their two requests. Another skim through the cookbooks and the idea of making a little street corn inspired topping really caught my attention.
This recipe is a mishmash of a couple recipes I referenced. The chili itself is mild with only one jalapeño that I carefully seeded and minced (you could always skip it altogether for even less heat). I added mild green chilis, bell peppers and a little garlic to amp up the flavor without adding additional spice. I’m still making big batches of chicken at the beginning of the week (I’ve shared recipes here in the paper and on my website for how to do that a couple different times, just poke around the archives or visit my site at thesaltandstone.com), so I had cooked chicken in the fridge that made this recipe very quick and easy to put together.
The street corn topping is a fun and special way to jazz up this dinner but its completely optional. If the extra step feels like too much for a quick weeknight dinner, just skip it. Also, remember you can always adjust the flavors to your own preference. Add extra cilantro if you love it or skip it altogether. Regardless, serve the chili with lime wedges, chips and cilantro for those who love it.
Street Corn Chicken Chili
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion diced
2 cooked chicken breasts shredded (rotisserie or pre-prepared)
2 large bell peppers (yellow, orange or red) diced
2 5-ounce containers diced mild green chilis
1 cup corn kernels
1 jalapeno seeded and minced
2 14-ounce cans white beans, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic minced
2 bay leaves
2 32-ounce boxes low-sodium chicken stock
8 ounces sour cream
4 ounces low-fat cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup fresh cilantro minced
1 lime, cut into wedges
Tortilla or corn chips
In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the diced onion and bell pepper to the pot, stirring to combine. Allow the vegetables to sweat, stirring often until the onion is translucent. Add the jalapeño, garlic and bay leaves, stir and cook for an additional two minutes until the garlic is fragrant.
Add the diced green chilis, corn kernels, cooked shredded chicken and white beans to the pot. Season with salt, pepper and cumin. Give a good stir to combine the ingredients. Add the chicken stock and reduce the heat to a simmer. Place the lid on the pot, leaving a small vent of air and let simmer on the stove for about 20 minutes. While the soup simmers, make the street corn topping.
After the soup has simmered for the 20 minutes. Remove the lid, turn the heat off to the pot and let the soup cool for about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the salt or seasonings if needed. Stir in the cream cheese and sour cream.
To serve, ladle the soup into a bowl. Top with a scoop of the street corn topping and serve with chopped cilantro, lime wedges and chips.
Street Corn Topping
1 cup frozen or canned corn kernels
2 tablespoons minced yellow onion
1 small jalapeño, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, minced
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
Juice of half a lime
Pinch of Kosher salt and black pepper
In a small bowl, combine the corn, onion, jalapeño, cilantro and feta cheese. Juice the lime over the mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Gently stir to combine. Garnish the soup with a spoonful of the corn topping.