19 ounce canned cannellini beans
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped or shredded
4 cups chicken broth
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 jalapenos, stemmed and chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add half of the garlic and onions, sautéing until tender.
2. Add jalapenos, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
3. Meanwhile, in a large pot over medium heat combine beans, chicken broth and remaining garlic and onions.
4. Mix the skillet contents into the pot and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and continue to cook until liquid has reduced by half and flavors have a chance to meld, at least 1 hour.
5. Spoon into bowls and top with fresh parsley to serve.

Makes 6 servings

I have been thinking of making a White Chili since I started this project. I just thought that the idea was intriguing and I've never had a white chili before. I used a modified version of the recipe from Simply Recipes, where I first heard about it. They describe it as tasty and mild. I'd say that this is an accurate description. Since it lacks chili peppers and there's only so many jalapenos you can add before it'd be a green chili, it's hard to make it all that spicy. Perhaps white pepper could be added for those looking to scorch their taste buds.

Since it neither has chili peppers nor chili powder, I suppose it's not even technically a chili. What it is, however, is delicious! I was actually wholly surprised at how much it tastes like typical red (note: the color, not communist) chili. I mean, eerily so. Perhaps even more than some other chilis I've made in the past that involved chili powder. No beef, red kidney beans or tomatoes, no chili powder (though really just paprika is missing) and no chili peppers, yet big chili taste. I'm downright surprised.

It was recommended to use cheese, guacamole, salsa, cilantro and so on to garnish it. I made a couple of large garlic croutons, canapés or crispy garlic breads (whatever you want to call them, I don't really know the difference) to go with it. Shannon said this was her favorite part. Actually, it's the only part she really ate, other than a few bites before asking me to wrap it up before she could eat it later. She did say she liked what she had though. Since it's big on cumin flavor (one of the dominant chili powder flavors) and loaded with garlic, I'm surprised I even left any behind.