OPERA EATS: Curry Thyme Chili with Greek Yogurt Dill Sauce

In this post-COVID-19 era, home cooking is getting its mojo back, and Fort Worth Opera has curated a series of recipes from our incredible staff and singers! Join us as we dive into the culinary minds of the opera world!

Curry Thyme Chili with a side of Israeli Salad; Photo courtesy of Aaron Noble

Aaron Noble trimming the jib on S/V Cyrano (J/105); Photo by Tyler Tompkins

The following recipe for Curry Thyme Chili comes from our very own office-millennial Aaron Noble (Digital Marketing Officer). Outside of the opera world, Aaron has been racing 35+ foot sailboats for over a decade and has accrued nearly 2,000 miles of ocean racing in the last five years. The Eagle Scout also loves backpacking, climbing and the outdoors in general.

"In a perfect world I would work outside all the time. But you know...Texas weather..."

Now you know where this recipe comes from - let's get to it!

INGREDIENTS:

3 lbs of Ground Turkey

2-3 Bell Peppers

1/2 Onion

6-8 Cloves of fresh garlic (minced)

4-6 Tomatoes (big)

1 Can of Black Beans

1 Can of Kidney Beans

1 Can of Chickpeas

1/2 tbsp curry powder

1/2 tbsp turmeric

Sprinkle of Thyme

1 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt

Dill Weed

1 Baby Cucumber

Salt

Black Pepper

1/4 Cup of barbecue sauce

DIRECTIONS:

First we'll start by making the tomato sauce.

1. Wash and blend the tomatoes to a liquid. Pour into a medium sized pot and bring to a boil on a medium heat. While tomato puree heats up, add in some salt and black pepper to taste, half the minced garlic, and a 1/4 of the onion (chopped) - let mixture boil. Once at boil, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes.

While the tomato sauce simmers for 15 minutes, begin preparing the ground turkey.

Remember to remove tomato from heat after 15 minutes.

2. Sauté the other half of the minced garlic and the other 1/4 onion (chopped), and the bell peppers (chopped). Once all veggies start to simmer, start adding in ground turkey.

You can sauté veggies and brown the turkey in a large pot (for making the chili) or you can brown in cast iron - I prefer cast iron. Sauté with butter or oil of your choice.

3. Add in salt and black pepper to taste. Once brown, remove from heat and start prepping the beans.

Preparing the chili!

4. In a large pot, combine cans of black beans, kidney beans, and chickpeas. Add in ground turkey and tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer on medium heat. Reduce to low heat once simmering. Add in curry powder, turmeric, and 1/4 cup of barbecue sauce. Mix well.

Add in Thyme. Maybe about 1/2 tablespoon or so.

Allow to simmer about 30 minutes on low heat.

Now let's prepare the sauce!

5. Finely chop the baby cucumber. Mix with 1 cup of plain Greek yogurt. Salt to taste. Then add about 1/2 tablespoon of dill weed.

6. SERVE! Dish up in a bowl or on a plate. Put a dollop of yogurt sauce on top and enjoy!

From our kitchen to yours. This is OPERA EATS!