Turkey green chile chili {gluten-free}

When my friend Candy brought me a container of real New Mexico green chiles (the hot ones!) a few months ago, I didn't know what to do. Well, that's not true. I knew what to do. I just couldn't settle on the perfect recipe to take advantage of all of this spicy goodness in the house, and because I couldn't choose a recipe, I put the container in the freezer last May. There it sat, until today, when I needed a dinner that was fast, filling, and hot (both temperature and spiciness), and I reached back into the archives for this turkey green chile chili that I first shared here in November, 2006, but never photographed. With the gift of nearly a pound of hot Hatch chile peppers, and everything else on hand in the pantry, this bean-free chili was quick and easy, just as I'd remembered. Depending on the type of potato you use, the chunks will remain firm, as mine did here, or they'll disintegrate into the chili and thicken it, with a nudge or two from the back of a wooden spoon. If you don't love chile peppers (and it's okay to use mild instead of hot), either cut the quantity way back, to a quarter pound, or try another recipe. This one's for chile lovers.

Turkey green chile chili

From the pantry, you'll need: ground turkey, onion, green chile peppers, canned chopped tomato, dried thyme leaf, kosher salt, fresh black pepper.

Serves 6-8; can be multiplied.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground turkey
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil (or other neutral oil: rice bran, safflower, grapeseed, etc.)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 lb canned green chile peppers, mild or hot, diced
• 1 lb canned diced tomato, with its juice
• 1 medium potato, peeled and diced
• 1-1/2 Tbsp fresh thyme, or 1 Tbsp dried thyme
• Kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste

Directions

In a Dutch oven or heavy 5-quart stock pot, sauté the turkey in oil over low-medium heat until it's no longer pink.

Add the onion, and continue cooking until the onion is translucent, 2-3 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients, reduce heat to simmer, and cook, partially covered, until the potato is cooked and starting to fall apart, and the chili has thickened (add water, a few tablespoons at a time, to keep it from sticking if necessary). This will take approximately 30 minutes.

Serve hot, with big chunks of cornbread. Or, cool completely, pack into airtight containers, and freeze.

More turkey chili variations:

Turkey mole chili, from The Perfect Pantry

Smoky turkey, black bean and corn chili, from The Perfect Pantry

President Obama's chili recipe, from The Perfect Pantry

Texas turkey chili, from Homesick Texan

Turkey and white bean chili with chocolate, from Kalyn's Kitchen