Pressure-Cooker White Bean Chicken Chili -- The Beans Helen Would Approve Of

Father's Day. David called in the morning, which he does every year first thing. Sarah called at her usual eight o'clock, even though Father's Day is an exception to the eight o'clock rule — she still called at eight. Teddy got on the phone briefly and said happy Father's Day, Grampy, which is what the grandchildren call me, a name I did not choose and do not object to. James said something in the phone that David reported was "happy something," the something being unclear. Lucy, Sarah reported, had drawn a picture of a dog that she said was Frost, though the resemblance was approximate.

Helen made my father's favorite for Sunday dinner: the baked beans that have been going since Saturday morning, and the steamed brown bread in the coffee cans, and a pot of Helen's Boston brown bread recipe that she makes with raisins in it, which I did not inherit from my mother and which I have grown to appreciate over forty years of marriage. We ate at the kitchen table with the windows open and the June air coming through and Frost on the porch and it was quiet and full in the right way.

I thought about my father on Father's Day in the way I think about him more often now that I am past the age at which he died. He was seventy-three when his heart stopped. I am sixty-six. I have seven years at minimum to do whatever I failed to do before he left. I do not think about this morbidly. I think about it the way a man thinks about a deadline: what is the work, and when does it need to be done, and what would he have thought of it if he could see it. He would have thought the baked beans were fine. He always thought the baked beans were fine.

The garden is excellent this week. The peas are setting pods. The tomatoes are climbing their stakes. The beans have broken ground. Everything is going according to the plan Helen made in March. It always does.

Helen’s baked beans take the better part of two days, and I have never once been asked to help with them — which is as it should be. But there are weeks when the beans aren’t on and you still want something that sits right: warm, simple, full of the kind of substance that doesn’t demand your attention. This pressure-cooker white bean chicken chili has become that dish for me on the off Sundays. The white beans are not my father’s baked beans, but they carry the same honest weight, and that is enough.

Pressure-Cooker White Bean Chicken Chili

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cans (15 oz each) white beans (cannellini or Great Northern), drained and rinsed
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
• 1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Sour cream, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, and fresh cilantro for serving

Instructions

1. Layer the base. Place the diced onion and garlic in the bottom of the pressure cooker insert. Add the chicken broth and stir briefly to distribute.
2. Add chicken and beans. Lay the chicken breasts on top of the onion mixture. Pour the drained white beans, diced tomatoes with green chiles, and diced green chiles over and around the chicken.
3. Season. Sprinkle cumin, chili powder, oregano, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper evenly over the top. Do not stir — let the layers stay as they are.
4. Pressure cook. Seal the lid and set the pressure cooker to high pressure for 20 minutes. Allow a natural release for 5 minutes, then carefully quick-release any remaining pressure.
5. Shred the chicken. Remove the chicken breasts with tongs and shred with two forks on a cutting board. Return shredded chicken to the pot and stir everything together.
6. Adjust and serve. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. If the chili is thinner than you prefer, use the sauté function on low for 5 minutes with the lid off to reduce slightly. Serve in bowls topped with sour cream, shredded cheese, and cilantro.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 5g | Carbs: 30g | Fiber: 8g | Sodium: 560mg