Somewhere Over the Rainbow—Chili with Peppers Galore

Last night, we were driving up the highway to the Queen City Balladeers’ Leo Coffeehouse when the heavens opened and we were hit with a deluge. Water up to our wheel wells, slamming the windshield, making visibility almost nil. It was quite an experience. Then, just before the Norwood Lateral, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and there was a lovely rainbow.

Which seemed particularly fitting, since we’d just had Rainbow Chili for dinner before heading out into the storm. So I took a photo of the rainbow—through the rain-spattered windshield—to go with the chili recipe.

I have to give my sister Amy credit; she told me she’d made some chili using lots of the peppers from the CSA. That seemed like a good use of peppers, so I got out a lot of them—red, orange, yellow, green, white, and purple—and diced them up. I think I probably used about ten of them, including a couple of jalapenos. I decided to make white chili—using chicken and Great Northern beans—so you could really see the rainbow colors of the peppers, but you could use a meat of your choice or even make it strictly vegetarian.

This tasted great with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of grated cheddar cheese on top; it’s definitely a Texas kind of chili, not Cincinnati chili (though I did put some cinnamon in, because I did grow up on Cincinnati chili, so I couldn’t help myself). I let this cook all day in the crockpot so I could take advantage of the warm weather before the rains came, and the kitchen smelled wonderful when I got back. But if you are home, you could make it all in a pot on the stove, too, in less time.

Rainbow Chili
About 10 assorted bell and hot peppers in a variety of colors, seeded and diced
1 large onion, diced
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, diced
3 stalks celery, sliced thin
4 to 6 tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon coriander
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 can Great Northern beans
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, sauted in a little olive oil
Chopped fresh parsley, sour cream, and grated cheddar cheese for garnishes

First saute the chicken thighs in a little olive oil (let them cook while you are dicing everything). Set them aside to cool, then put the diced garlic in a little olive oil in a pan. If you want to cook this on the stovetop, use a soup pot to sauté the garlic; otherwise, you can use a skillet and then transfer the vegetables to a crockpot.

Let the garlic cook for a couple of minutes, until it is fragrant. Then add the diced onions and cook until they become soft, 3 or 4 minutes. Add all the peppers and the celery and tomatoes, then add the spices and salt. Cook everything for about 5 minutes, then transfer to crockpot or turn the heat way down and let everything cook for awhile (about 3 hours on high in the crockpot; 45 minutes to an hour would probably be enough if you cook it on the stovetop).

When things have simmered nicely, add the chicken and beans, heat through, and serve with the garnishes. Makes about 4 good-sized servings. It tastes great the next day, too.