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Turkey Chilli Soup

This Turkey Chilli Soup has the taste, the warmth, the cosiness of a chilli, but as a soup, it's a little lighter. Perfect with a sandwich!

Adapted from a recipe by Ambitious Kitchen

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1 red pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 yellow pepper, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 500g (1lb) minced turkey or chicken
  • 1 tbsp chilli powder (chilli powders do vary enormously in spiciness. My powder is mild, but proceed with caution!)
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 x 400g (14oz) cans of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 litre (2 pints) chicken stock - you may need a little more or a little less depending on how you like your chilli soup
  • 1 x 400g (14oz) can kidney beans (or another type of bean, if you prefer), drained and rinsed

For the garnish (optional) -

  • chopped avocado
  • sour cream
  • spring onions, finely sliced
  • fresh tomatoes, finely chopped
  • fresh chillies, finely sliced

Instructions

  1. Add the olive oil to a large, deep frying pan and sauté the onion, peppers and the crushed garlic until the onions are translucent and the peppers are beginning to soften.
  2. Add the turkey/chicken mince to the pan and break it up with a wooden fork or spoon to get it as crumbly as possible.
  3. Once the meat is no longer pink, add the spices (chilli powder, ground cumin, cayenne pepper) and a good amount of salt and pepper. Stir through over the heat until it's smelling fantastic.
  4. Tip in the 2 cans of chopped tomatoes and about half of the chicken stock. Stir well.
  5. Bring up to the boil and then simmer gently (without a lid for 40 minutes). Keep an eye on the consistency and add the remainder of the stock as it's needed (the rate that you add the stock will depend on how much the size of your pan can accomodate in one go and how runny you want your soup to be).
  6. When there is 5 minutes of cooking time remaining, take out 2 ladlefuls of the chilli soup and puree this with a stick blender or in a small food processor. Now add this back into the soup. This stage is optional but it does give the soup more body.
  7. Add the kidney beans in the last 5 minutes of cooking and taste for seasoning.
  8. Serve hot, topped with garnishes if you choose.

Notes

  • Turkey and chicken mince are interchangeable - chicken mince may be more widely available
  • If you use less stock, the recipe behaves like a traditional chilli - ie something that you might serve with rice. I like that you can adapt in this way to make two different meal experiences.
  • The smaller the chunks, the soupier it feels - this includes the vegetables as well as how much the mince is broken into smaller pieces.

Keywords: soup, mexican, healthy, cosy