Pumpkin Chili with Turkey, White Beans & Green Apple

Posted by - Dawn
on - June 18, 2019
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Here is one that Matt and I came up with one day while we were sipping on wine and enjoying a mushroom flatbread at Antico Posto. We had to go to the mall for something that day and decided to stop and enjoy an afternoon snack. This whole dish was brought on by my good friend, Melissa, who has written a few cookbooks herself. She challenged a group of us to come up with a savory recipe using pumpkin. I love a good challenge, but I was very intimidated with writing my own recipe. I rarely measure things, so the thought of figuring out just how much of something I use seemed exhausting! Thanks again, to my wonderful husband for helping out in this area!

On to the recipe…this was a lot of fun to come up with and it really did turn out quite yummy if I do say so myself! It is a warm and hearty meal perfect for those cool fall nights. Make sure to serve this up with some good ol’ crusty french bread to sop up the goodness.

Ingredients – (serves 4-6)

1 3lb pie pumpkin, peeled and chopped into 1½ – 2-inch pieces
1lb ground turkey
1 large white onion, quartered
2 15oz cans of white beans (cannellini or great northern), rinsed and drained
1 granny smith apple, diced
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon cinnamon (plus more to taste)
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper (or more if you like more kick)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ – ½ cup toasted pepitas for garnish

Directions –

Preheat oven to 375. Toss pumpkin and onion in a large bowl with olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper. Line evenly on a large baking sheet. Cook for 20 minutes. Stir pumpkin and onion around and put back in the oven for 10 more minutes.

While pumpkin and onion are roasting, place ground turkey in a sauté pan on medium heat. Add 1 tsp of the cumin, ½ tsp of the garlic powder, ¼ tsp of cinnamon and salt and pepper to taste. Brown turkey until thoroughly cooked, stirring often. This is also good with fresh, minced garlic as well.

Once pumpkin and onion are done roasting, place them in a large soup pot and add broth just until vegetables are covered (about 3 cups). Cook on medium high heat until pumpkin is soft (10-15 minutes).

When the pumpkin is soft, transfer broth, pumpkin and onion, in batches to a food processor and puree until smooth. Or, you could use an immersion blender, which I did not have yet at the time of these pictures! I’m still in the early stages here folks 😉 Return to pot.

Place pot back on the stove on medium heat. Add remaining ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp cumin, another dash of cinnamon, ½ tsp crushed red pepper and salt and pepper to taste. Add browned turkey, the white beans and apple. Also add in the remaining one cup of broth (or not, depending on desired consistency. I added it).