Turkey Chili with Butternut Squash & Apples
Today I judged a new ice-cream flavour contest at Marble Slab (a tough job, but somebody’s gotta), emceed the launch of Read Alberta Magazines Month at Art Central (and tried to not spend the entire evening in one of my favourite stores) and hung out with a world arm wrestling champion. Five eclectic ice cream flavours and assorted chunks of waffle cone + two wine samples + a small plate of butter chicken = dinner. Fortunately, it was some pretty great butter chicken, in a not-too heavy/creamy sort of way, and chef Nash (from A Fine Balance Catering in Airdrie) promised me the recipe. And here it is – a little vague, but you get the gist:
Chef Nash’s Own Melt-In-Your-Mouth Butter Chicken
Boneless chicken breasts
1 can Aylmer whole tomatoes
4 oz olive oil
2 oz red pepper, diced
2 oz onions, chopped
2 tbsp garlic purée
1/2 tsp dried fenugreek (kasoori methi)
Patak’s hot or mild curry paste
Patak’s tandoori paste
4 oz whipping cream or yogurtMarinate chicken breasts in 2 oz olive oil, 1 tbsp garlic, 1/2 tsp curry paste and 1/2 tsp tandoori paste and bake for 20 minutes at 350F.
Start sauce by sautéing red peppers, onions and garlic in olive oil. Add 1 tsp of hot or mild curry paste and simmer for two to three minutes. Blend canned tomatoes in food processor and add to sauce. Add 1/2 tsp fenugreek, cover and simmer for 30 minutes on low heat (250 F). Dice chicken breasts and add. Add 4 oz whipping cream and check for seasoning.
M and W had leftover turkey chili (I think – they might have eaten Ichiban and Cheezies in my absence) – a recipe I had to make as soon as I saw it. It’s not your traditional chili – although it does have beans (black) it’s more loaded with chunks of butternut squash and apples, with a curry quality brought on by a can of coconut milk. Très fall. Apparently it’s pretty fab made with leftover roast turkey – I had some ground in my freezer, but I’ll be sure to make use of turkey leftovers in a couple weeks (HOW DID OCTOBER SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THIS?).
Or sooner, because I just discovered you can cook a whole entire turkey in your CrockPot. Oh yes, and you don’t have to debone it in order to cram it in! I’ll fill you in on the details soon – experiment #1 is chilling right now in its pot in my barbecue.
I love when the temperature dips to near freezing overnight and I can use my backyard as a second fridge.
CrockPot Turkey Chili with Apples
from my friend Korey Kealey of FoodThought
1 each: onion, carrot and celery stalk, chopped
2 cups each: apples, cored and chopped and butternut squash, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb (454 g) ground turkey, cooked
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp (15 mL) ground cumin
1 tsp (5 mL) dried oregano
¼ tsp (1 mL) each: salt and freshly ground pepper
1 can (10 fl oz/284 mL) undiluted chicken broth
1 can (400 mL) light coconut milk
2 tbsp (25 mL) tomato paste
1 cup (250 mL) canned black beans, drained and rinsed
cilantro, for garnish (optional)Combine everything in your CrockPot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Garnish with fresh cilantro, if you like.
One Year Ago: Ribs, Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans
October 01 2009 11:11 pm | chicken & turkey and slow cooker
Carolyn on 02 Oct 2009 at 5:30 am #
This chili is being made this weekend with turkey leftover from last weekend’s early Thanksgiving dinner. Can’t wait to try it. Thank you!
Barb on 02 Oct 2009 at 7:49 am #
Recipe is copied and pasted. I also cooked turkey early and love the idea of new additions in a comforting hot dish.
pauline on 02 Oct 2009 at 8:00 am #
The chili looks so good, will be putting it on my list to make soon. Love butter chicken too. Julie would it be a lot of work to put the calorie fiber content etc on some of the recipes. Its so sad all my hanging baskets are now dead they where so beautiful -3 yesterday morning. I don’t feel ready for winter but I never am. Have a great weekend all.
Sarah on 02 Oct 2009 at 9:54 am #
Hi, this looks great, but have you had good results adding the can of coconut milk at the start? This vegan chatroom I go to for answers all say to add coconut milk at the end for crockpot stuff…I’d much prefer to add it early (and be done with it) than to wait, so just wanted to check on this, thanks!
JulieVR on 02 Oct 2009 at 10:05 am #
I added it at the beginning, and it was fine!
charm on 02 Oct 2009 at 2:35 pm #
I love Uppercase too. I was just in Vancouver and visited a store on Main called Regional Assembly of Text. (www.assemblyoftext.com). Very cool store.
Kathryn on 02 Oct 2009 at 4:54 pm #
Thanks for the chili recipe Julie! I was begging for it on Twitter a few days ago. It’s going on the menu plan for next week. I love Uppercase too! Have to constantly remind myself I do not need more blank notebooks. Those typewriters up on the shelf are gorgeous. A whole turkey in the crock pot sounds like the basis for a new Dave & Morley story…
cheryl on 02 Oct 2009 at 7:09 pm #
Turkey chili sounds interesting. I’m on the lookout for a white bean chicken chili recipe, that I once tasted. No curry though.
Amy Green (Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free) on 02 Oct 2009 at 7:52 pm #
You were much busier than me – I have a virus and am just waiting for it to let up a little bit. Been eating TONS of garlic soup.
I make a butternut squash soup with turkey sausage and it’s fabulous. I didn’t use apples or beans but they sound like a great addition. I was on a kick with my immersion blender so that soup got pureed.
margo on 02 Oct 2009 at 10:58 pm #
Cheryl, Janet and Greta Podleski (cookbook “Eat, Shrink and Be Merry”) have the kind of chili you’re looking for called “I’m Dreaming of a White Chili”.
Cindy on 13 Nov 2009 at 1:43 pm #
How can I make the crock pot chili with butternut squash and apples without the crock pot?