Just in time for fall (and football!), Blue Plate Catering‘s Executive Chef Randal Jacobs shares a hearty Lobster Verde Chili recipe filled with lobster, white beans, green chilis, charred corn and cilantro, perfect for a weeknight dinner or gametime meal. If you’re having people over to watch the Bears or your favorite college team, make it an autumn chili fest and team up with your friends to line up this Lobster Verdi Chili alongside a more traditional Secret Ingredient Chili, made with tender chunks of beef, and an unexpected Sweet Turkey Chili, made with ground turkey and sweet potatoes. Round out your spread to include something for everyone with any of these vegetarian appetizers and you’re guaranteed a winning party — regardless of the final score!
Lobster Verde Chili
Yields 16
Ingredients:
- 3 jalapeño chili peppers
- 3 poblano chili peppers
- 3 Anaheim chili peppers
- 2 medium onions (about 2 cups)
- 6 medium cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoons ground cloves
- 1 teaspoons white pepper
- 3 (14.5-ounce) cans cannellini beans , drained and rinsed
- 6 cups lobster stock
- 3 cups charred corn nibblets
- 2 ounces cilantro (chopped)
- 4 cups large diced cooked lobster (add to chili once warm)
Directions:
1. The chili peppers should be stemmed, seeded and cut into large pieces. Onions should be skinned and cut into large pieces. Crush the head of garlic into six individual cloves of peeled garlic. Put the poblano, Anaheim and jalapeño chili peppers, onions and garlic into a food processor. Pulse 10-15 times until minced. (Don’t wash the food processor bowl and blade yet. We will use it again in a few minutes.)
2. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the minced chilis-onion garlic mixture from the food processor bowl along with the spices (cumin, coriander, ground cloves and white pepper). Salt to taste. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, about 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat. Add cannellini beans and lobster stock to chili.
3. Transfer one half of the chili mixture back to the now empty food processor bowl. Process until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add back into the chili in the Dutch oven. This will help thicken your chili. Chill and reserve. To serve, warm up your chili and add your cooked lobster, charred corn, and cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Serve with lime wedges.
Are you counting the minutes until the Bears’ regular season kicks off this weekend? In the meantime, read about how Chicago Bears linebacker Sam Acho is delivering maximum impact on and off the field.
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Anna Carlson writes the weekly 5 Things to Do column and monthly Recommended Events. A graduate of Glenbrook South High School and the University of Missouri, her work has been published in Chicago Parent, Inside Columbia Magazine and Central California Parent Magazine. She is a proud supporter of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
