White chili with chicken and white root vegetables

So lately I have been having digestion and energy issues.  Basically, I am not digesting my food well and am getting very tired (probably because of this).  So, I thought it might be back to go back to basics and start eating more vegetables (again!).  I borrowed Food Matters from Mark Bittman from the library and decided to make this recipe, as I had leftover root vegetables in the fridge.

White Chili with Chicken and White Root Vegetables



Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 oz ground chicken or turkey
Salt and black pepper
2 leeks, trimmed, well rinsed and chopped or 2 onions, chopped
4 parsnips, chopped
1 celery root, chopped
1 large or 2 medium turnips, chopped
2 all-purpose potatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, or 1 teaspoon dried
1 bay leaf
1dried mild chili (like ancho) or 1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
Grated zest and juice of one lime
2 cups any dried white beans, rinsed, picked over, and soaked if you like
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
1/2 cup chopped scallions for garnish

Procedure:

1) Cook the ground turkey until it has lost its color.
2) Remove and add onion and sauté until softened, about 3-5 minutes.
3) Add all the remaining ingredients and the chicken (except the lime juice and cilantro) and put in a slow cooker.
4) Stir together, then add enough water to just cover.  Cook on low for 8 hours or so. 
5) Right before you serve it, add the lime juice and the cilantro. 
Enjoy!

I used dried cannelini beans for my white bean.  Since I was using them dried, I decided to experiment with cooking the whole thing in a slow cooker (especially as I always have so much trouble with dried beans cooking through!).  It came out really delicious and lasted me quite a few meals!  The only trouble I had was that it wasn't spicy enough for me!  I ended up adding a little cayenne pepper in at the end.

White chili with (turkey) and white root vegetables