We are flush with vegetables and gourds from our winter CSA. And one of my favorite things in the world was prevalent this week – tomatillos. So, I whipped us up a batch of tomatillo salsa, and that was dinner one night with nachos.

Then when the winter turned colder almost immediately (Hey, Hurricane Sandy, hey!) and we still - thankfully - had power, I realized that what we needed to fight the chill was a big batch of green chicken chili. And because I already had the fresh salsa on hand, I knew that I could have dinner on the table in less than an hour.

Green Chicken Chili

2 cooked chicken breasts

1 large red onion, diced

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 chili pepper, diced

1 green pepper, diced

3 green tomatoes, diced

2 tablespoons of cumin

1 tablespoon of chili powder

1 teaspoon of chipotle powder

2 tablespoons of flour

3 cups of chicken broth

½ cup of tomatillo salsa (homemade or store bought)

1 cup of chopped kale or swiss chard

1 tablespoon of red wine

Saute the onion, chili pepper and green pepper in the olive oil with salt and pepper over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and spices and cook for about 2 minutes, then add the flour. Stir well for one minute, then add the chicken, the broth and salsa. Strip the kale from the stem and chop into 1-inch pieces and add to the chili along with the red wine. Simmer for a half an hour on low heat. Serve with shredded monterey jack cheese and warm tortillas.

Serves 4.

(Photo by Launie Kettler)