It's a White Chilli Kind of Thanksgiving
Or as we call it here, the fourth Thursday in November
Welcome to The Sauce, deep travels through food and drink culture written by me, Charlie Brown, founder and former owner of what was once named Britain’s best independent wine store.
The Sauce is 100% reader-supported. For $5 a month or $50 a year, you’ll get access to hundreds of recipes and an ever-increasing number of food and wine commentaries and articles, as well as discounts on my remote wine consulting service.
I’ll teach you how to cook better. How to buy better drinks. How to cope with wine culture when it threatens to overwhelm you.
Your donation keeps the oven on and the pantry stocked. Thank you.
I think I’ve got my American celebrations mixed up.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and yet I'm suggesting you make white chilli which I have just read is a Superbowl thing (or is that just the beef kind?)
I suppose here in Porto, this doesn’t matter too much. If it’s not linked to bloodless revolutions, workers’ rights, or Catholicism, it likely won’t be celebrated. Tomorrow is just a normal Thursday.
But TCP is read in 49 states and tomorrow there is going to be a lot of leftover turkey. It was only as I wrote that sentence I realised that this week’s recipe is perfect for that.
And 10% of my readers come from my home country of the UK where I know a roast chicken still has a stranglehold on Sunday lunch so I’m always on the lookout for recipes that use up leftover chicken — I wrote 2000-odd words on the subject earlier this year.
Yesterday I promised a recipe to use up leftover Caldo (chicken broth) and this is it —white chicken (or turkey) chilli.
Whilst I know white chilli is a thing in the US, my European readers may have never heard of it. After some digging about its origins, I found it’s a relatively new invention from the American South. It’s lighter in taste than your average beef chilli, focusing on fresher flavours like chicken, white beans, jalapeños, limes, and a dairy element swirled in towards the end.
Its freshness means it’s also incredibly quick to make (if you don’t cook beans from dried and have the aforementioned ready-roasted poultry) which is good if you’re still hosting the likes of your Aunt Betty after Thanksgiving.
Or like me, you’re just obsessed with roast chicken and always have leftovers in the freezer.
My end-of-year offer for The Capsule Panty is going strong — 30% off until the end of December. That gives you access to recipes like this one, plus scores of others in The Capsule Pantry index.
Every recipe is designed to be incredibly adaptable. I’ll teach you how to see your fridge and pantry as a whole ecosystem that works together in a bid to reduce food waste and save you money.
And never make a bad substitution again.
White bean and chicken (or turkey) chilli
Serves 4