Hearty Ground Turkey Chili Recipe

Try This Low-Fat Recipe as an Alternative to Chili Made with Beef

© Norman Kolpas

Feb 27, 2008

In recent years, ground turkey has gained widespread acceptance as a flavorful and healthier alternative to ground beef. Just about any lover of beef would be hard pressed to tell that there is no red meat in this chili.

You'll find ground turkey in the meat section of most well stocked supermarkets. For the leanest results, look for ground turkey specifically from breast meat.

Even better, grind the turkey yourself, a process easily done with a food processor.

To prepare ground turkey: Buy boneless, skinless turkey breast meat. With a sharp knife, trim off and discard any visible fat or gristle. Cut the meat into chunks of roughly equal size, about 1 inch. Put the cubes in a food processor fitted with the stainless steel blade, taking care not to overfill the work bowl and working in batches if necessary. Secure the lid and pulse the machine on and off until the turkey is uniformly chopped to a moderately fine consistency like that of ground beef, stopping once or twice to scrape down the side of the bowl for even chopping.

Then, your freshly "ground" turkey will be ready to transform into a truly flavorful, healthy chili.

Hearty Ground Turkey Chili

Makes 4 to 6 servings

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
• 2 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon hot paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1/4 pound mushrooms, coarsely chopped
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 2 teaspoons dried savory
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal

Method:

1. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, paprika, red pepper flakes, cumin, and coriander. Sauté, stirring continuously, until the onions begin to soften and the spices are fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Add the turkey and mushrooms, raise the heat to high, and sauté, stirring frequently to break up the meat into rough chunks, until the turkey is no longer pink, 7 to 10 minutes.
3. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, red wine, tomato paste, oregano, basil, savory, thyme, bay leaves, sugar, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer briskly, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is fairly thick but still slightly liquid, about 1 1/4 hours.
4. While stirring, sprinkle in the cornmeal. Continue to simmer until the chili has thickened, about 15 minutes more. Discard the bay leaves before serving.

This chili recipe is excellent served over steamed rice. If you like beans in your chili, feel free to stir in 2 cups of drained canned kidney beans along with the cornmeal towards the end of cooking. Parmesan Sourdough Toasts make an excellent accompaniment, too.

If you're looking for more healthy chili recipes, try Chicken Breast White Bean Chili or Chicken Breast Chili Sauté.

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