Chicken Chilli is a 'white' chilli with white beans, corn & chunks of chicken. Finished with a little cream, coriander leaf & lime juice, it's a lighter, fresher alternative to traditional tomato based chillies.
Also works with leftover turkey.
In a large saucepan, melt the fat or heat the olive oil.
Add the onion and cook gently until starting to soften and brown (10-15 min).
Stir in the garlic and chillies and cook for a further 3-4 min.
Add all the spices and herbs, a little salt and some pepper. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the beans, sweetcorn, the chopped coriander STALKS (not the leaf) and stir so they're coated in the aromatics, spices and herbs.
Add the sugar if using.
Stir in the chicken stock: 500ml to make a thick chilli or 700ml for a thinner, more soup-like chilli.
Make sure you scrape up any vegetables or spices that have stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Bring to the boil and simmer for around 25 minutes or until any harshness from the spices has been cooked out. Leave a lid off to evaporate some of the liquid if there seems to be too much.
OPTIONAL: use a stick blender to whizz up approximately one third to a half of the chilli and thicken it.
Add the chicken, double cream or crème fraiche and the coriander leaf (keep back some of the coriander for serving if you like). Cook very gently until the chicken is heated through.
Stir in the juice of half the lime just before serving.
Cut the other half of the lime into wedges to squeeze over the chilli at the table.
Sprinkle the bowls with any reserved coriander plus grated cheese.
Getting the most from a roast chicken
I recommend roasting a whole chicken and using the breasts in this recipe. To use up the rest of the chicken: