I cannot say enough about this high protein, low fat chili verde. It’s a recipe invention that came from a desire to figure out what the fuck a tomatillo was. I can say proudly today that I’ve made the tomatillo my bitch. And I’m going to share with you now how to make tomatillos your bitch, too.  Here’s how:

The ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 lb. chicken breast
• 1 can great northern beans
• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 1 can white hominy
• 1 small can chopped green chilis
• 1 1/2 lbs. fresh tomatillos
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 fresh jalapeños
• 1 bell pepper
• 5 toes garlic
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 lime, quartered
• cayenne pepper
• red pepper flakes
• salt
• sazon goya (without the red color)
• garlic powder
• hot chili powder
• cumin
• oregano
• coriander

First things first, chop your chicken into bite size pieces and add to a large pot to cook with ground turkey.

You have to season at this stage to give the meat plenty of flavor. So it’s now that I add 2 packets of Sazon (Hispanic food aisle, it makes Mexcan style dishes taste more Mexican), a 1/2 tablespoon each of salt and oregano and hot chili powder, 1 teaspoon each of cayenne, coriander, garlic powder and red pepper flakes, and a tablespoon of cumin.  Stir that all in and cook the meat through.

While your meat is cooking, get ready to handle up on those tomatillos. Essentially, you’re about to make a salsa verde. Break out your food processor. It’s gonna be easy. Promise.

Tomatillos come wrapped in their own little papery skin.  You have to peel that skin off, then give them a good rinse to wash off the sort of sticky film that lies underneath. After that, simply quarter them up and toss them into your cuisinart.

To the mixer you’ll now add a big handful of fresh cilantro, 5 toes of garlic, and two whole fresh jalapeños…seeds and all. Too hot for you? Take the seeds out then, pussy.

Now give that goodness a whirl until it’s all puréed.  Set it aside.

Chop up one yellow onion and one bell pepper into a small dice and add that to the cooking meat.  Open your small can of chopped green chilies and add those, too. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes.

Now add your puréed salsa verde to the pot and toss in a couple-few bay leaves.

Now rinse and drain your beans. I really like using this mix of great northerns, garbanzos, and white hominy. The different textures and flavors are perfect for this chili. Add the rinsed and drained beans and hominy to the pot.

Give the pot a big stir and add three cups of chicken stock and a quartered lime (squeeze in the juice then just drop the lime right in). Bring the pot to a simmer and cook over medium heat for about 25 minutes.

Now serve yourself up a steaming bowl of chili, add a dollop of sour cream and garnish with some fresh cilantro. Enjoy your fiesta!