no poultry

It’s the day before Thanksgiving, and the last thing any of us wants to eat is turkey or chicken! In fact, today – the day and night before Turkey Day – is the biggest day for pizza delivery for the entire year! Bigger than Super Bowl Sunday, bigger than New Year’s Eve (we always ordered delivery pizza for our kids that night just as we were heading out the door), and bigger than any other day! Why??? Because everyone is sick of cooking, the refrigerators are full, and we are all anticipating cooking and eating turkey tomorrow!

In honor of the “no poultry” unwritten rule, I’ve got some spicy chili for your dining pleasure. I purchased a package of chorizo bolita at the Mexican market thinking I was going to be trying some new and exciting style of chorizo.  After some internet research, I learned that chorizo bolita is just regular chorizo in little links. Bolita means pellets. Oh well, I tried, and it turns out it is a convenient way to buy chorizo. You can cut off as many links as you need and then repackage and freeze the rest in smaller amounts. I used 3 pellets, or about 5 ounces, for this chili recipe. Plus I really wanted to cook and slice the chorizo as links instead of cooking and crumbling it as I usually do.  Removing the casing very carefully and then cooking the links in a bit of water, gave me the exact result I was looking for.

Two Bean-Two Corn Chorizo and Poblano Chili

1 tablespoon olive oil
5 ounces chorizo links, casings carefully removed
1 large onion, peeled and minced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 poblano chilies; roasted, peeled, cored, seeded, and diced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
15-ounce can cannellini beans, with liquid
15-ounce can Great Northern White beans, with liquid,
29-ounce can white hominy, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 green onions, finely minced
Chopped cilantro leaves
1 lime, cut into 6 wedges

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chorizo links, do not break them up, and leave links intact. Add 1/4 cup of water to the pot and cover.  Cook the links for about 4 minutes on one side, remove the cover and turn the links over. Add more water if needed so the pot is not dry. Cover and cook for another 4 minutes. Uncover and turn links over again, adding more water if needed. Cover and finish cooking for 5 minutes or until links are completely cooked. Remove links and slice, set aside.

Add onion to the pot and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and diced poblano and sauté for 3 minutes. Stir in both chili powders, cumin, and salt; cook for 3 minutes. 

Stir in the beans with their juices, the drained hominy, corn kernels, and the sliced chorizo.  Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover, and cook over a very low simmer for 20 minutes or until slightly thickened. 

To serve; ladle into serving bowls and garnish with green onions, cilantro, and lime wedges.

Serves 6