Italian-Inspired Spicy Turkey Sausage Chili With Fresh Mozzarella Recipe

This recipe almost developed itself as I tried to figure out how to incorporate my leftover ball of fresh mozzarella in chili. I decided to replace many of the ingredients in a traditional chili with the Italian counterpart. Spices like cumin, cinnamon, paprika, and garlic powder were replaced with red chile flakes, dried oregano, fresh basil, fresh rosemary and garlic. Cannellini beans stood in for black and kidney beans, while balsamic vinegar and lemon zest took over for beer and cider vinegar. Cheddar? Who needs it when you have freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and hunks of melting fresh mozzarella? And, to top it off, I ate the leftovers with pasta — and it was fantastic. Click here to see Recipe SWAT Team: Chili.