Chicken Chili with Tostones - 3/4/08

So here's the story. This meal started out greatly different than it ended up. The original idea was to make a yuca-chicken chili with tomatoes. Then my yuca was freezer-burnt. Then my tomatoes had mold on them. I was just going to omit them, but the meal looked so plain. I found some green beans in the freezer and put them in to add some color. So here's what I ended up with.


I sauteed some onions and garlic until they were tender. I added two cans of chick peas plus their juice and let this simmer for a bit. I cut up the meat from one of those Publix rotisserie chickens (this one was mojo flavored) and added that to the pot and let it simmer with a bay leaf, cumin, turmeric, Adobo seasoning, and garlic powder for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, I cut up some plantains (they were a little riper than the should have been) and placed them on a greased cookie sheet. I baked them at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. When I took them out of the oven, I smashed them down with the bottom of a 1 cup measure. Then I baked them for about 10 minutes more until they were a little crisp. Once I removed them from the oven, I salted them. Traditional tostones are made the same way, except they are fried instead of baked.

To bring this all together, I put the chili in a bowl, added a couple of tostones and garnished it with some cilantro and scallions. I am disappointed I was not able to use the yuca (it tastes delicious after it is boiled in lime-water for about 40 minutes), but this result was a good alternative.

On a personal note, I am done traveling, so I should have more updates coming on a more regular basis. I have decided to go to Duke Graduate School. Durham, North Carolina was just an awesome place to live and I feel it will be a great fit.