Ramesh's White Chili
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 small yellow onion , diced
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic , finely minced
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/2 (7 oz) cans diced green chilies
- 2 1/4 tsp cumin
- 3/4 tsp paprika
- 3/4 tsp dried oregano
- 3/4 tsp ground coriander
- 3/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
- 1 1/2 (8 oz) pkgs neufchatel cheese (aka light cream cheese), cut into small cubes
- 1 7/8 cups frozen or fresh corn
- 3 (15 oz) cans cannellini beans
- 3 3/4 cups shredded cooked rotisserie or left-over chicken*
- 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for serving
- tortilla chips or strips, monterrey jack cheese, sliced avocado for serving (optional)
Directions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute 4 minutes minutes. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer.
- Add chicken broth, green chilies, cumin, paprika, oregano, coriander, cayenne pepper and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture just to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 15 minutes.
- Drain and rinse beans in a fine mesh strainer or colander then measure out 1 cup. Set whole beans aside, transfer 1 cup beans to a food processor along with 1/4 cup broth from soup, puree until nearly smooth.
- Add Neufchatel cheese to soup along with corn, whole beans and pureed beans and stir well. Simmer 5 - 10 minutes longer.
- Stir in chicken, fresh lime juice and cilantro. Serve with Monterrey Jack cheese, more cilantro, avocado slices and tortilla chips if desired.
*Recipe updated to use pre-cooked shredded chicken (previously used 1 lb raw chicken in this recipe and cooked at the beginning). I like the flavor of rotisserie chicken better plus this way you don't end with over-cooked chicken breasts. **If you don't own a food processor you can skip the pureeing step, soup just won't be quite as creamy.