The problem with using ground turkey in chili is that the chili ends up tasting not like chili. It just doesn’t have that hearty low note that beef or pork gives. I’ve been working on trying to figure out how to add that flavor without upping the fat. The chili I made has no additional fat. The only fat comes from the very lean ground turkey.

I decided that using ingredients that have umami would be the best way to achieve my goal. I diced up a bunch of crimini mushrooms and sauteed them in the pot right after I had browned the meat. I added a little tequila and let that reduce. Then I put in the rest of my vegetables one at at time – onions, red bell pepper, pasilla chile, fresno chile and garlic. I added about 1/4 cup of various spices. Then about 3 oz. of tomato paste. Next three kinds of beans – black, red kidney and cannellini. Then two cans of diced tomatoes, the browned turkey and a little V8 to get it to the right liquidity. Oh and all along I was seasoning it with salt as a put each ingredient in. But it still wasn’t quite right. So I added two capfuls of soy sauce another ingredient that has umami and a half lime, squeezed. Before putting the whole thing in the oven to simmer, I added a half of a dried chipotle pepper and two dried arbol chiles. It cooked slowly in the oven for a couple of hours.

When serving, I topped it with some sliced green onions and cilantro. I enjoyed having the arugula with it. The arugula has a nice bitterness and the acid from the salad dressing brought some tartness. So here’s a dinner that is pretty healthy – low in fat and high in fiber – and very filling. Plus there’s some left for tomorrow!

Turkey chili with arugula salad