TartQueen's Kitchen

When my husband, Steve, was a vegetarian, I had to come up with all sorts of variations on my favorite dishes to accommodate his dietary needs. (He has since come back to the dark side.)  Since one of my favorites has always been Posole, I wanted to come up with a variation that we would both enjoy. (For more on posole, see my Feb. 28, 2012 post “Posole (…or Pozole)”.)

Traditional posole is always made with meat.  Usually pork.  However, my recipe is a quick, easy, and most importantly, tasty recipe that will make vegetarian and non-vegetarians alike very happy. And full.

Now, to the recipe.

*********************************

Notes:

a) I realize I’m wandering dangerously close into Sandra Lee territory with all the canned ingredients.  But, trust me, they work in this dish.  However, if you’d like to use all fresh, be my guest.

b) If you omit the cheese as a garnish and cook the hominy from dried, you can make this dish vegan.  If you’d like to add some protein, use chicken broth and add some cooked chicken at the end.

The ingredients

Clockwise from top: ground cumin, salt, black pepper, Mexican oregano

2 tbsp. vegetable or canola oil

1 med. white onion, diced

3 cl. garlic, minced

1 small can (approximately 1/2 c.) salsa verde

2 small cans (approxomately 1/2 c.) chopped green chiles, hot, mild, or a combination

2 cans hominy, drained

1 tsp. dried Mexican oregano

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

4 c. vegetable broth

few dashes green Tabasco

Juice of 1 lime, or to taste

For garnish:

chopped avocado

diced queso fresco

chopped cilantro

fresh limes, quartered (because I like more lime than most normal people)

corn tortillas

1.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat.  Add the onions and garlic.  Saute until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.

Sauteing the onion and garlic.

2.  Add the salsa verde and the chiles.  Saute another 2 -3 minutes.  Add the oregano, cumin, salt & pepper.  Saute another 2 – 3 minutes.

Sauteing the salsa verde, chiles, and spices

3.  Add the hominy and saute for another 2 – 3 minutes.

Adding the hominy

4.  Add the vegetable broth and a few dashes of the green Tabasco.

Adding the broth and Tabasco.

Cover the saucepan and bring the broth to a boil.  Uncover, lower the heat to medium low, and cook for 30 – 45 minutes.  The soup will thicken slightly as it cooks.

Stir frequently.  Taste for seasoning after the first 30 minutes.

The posole after 45 minutes of cooking. It’s reduced and thickened slightly.

5.  After the initial cooking time, add the lime juice and cook another 5 minutes.  Taste the soup for seasoning.

Mmmm….

6.  Serve the posole with queso fresco, chopped cilantro, chopped avocado, and more lime.  Have heated corn tortillas on the side.

The condiment tray. clockwise from top: chopped cilantro, queso fresco, chopped avocado, limes.

Dinner!

Enjoy!

Pozole, a word of Pre-Hispanic origin meaning “froth”, is a stew-like dish prepared with grains of a special corn called cacahuazintle (a very large kernel corn with a tough skin originally grown in Mexico) pre-cooked in a weak lye-water solution, making the corn grains lose their tough, fibrous outer layer so that they open like flowers when boiled, giving them the appearance of froth (what we now call hominy).  This corn is added to a broth with shredded chicken or pork. When serving, the usual condiments are chopped onion, limes, dried oregano, avocado, shredded cabbage, and tortillas.

Different states of Mexico have made pozole their own. People in the State of Guerrero add tomatillos, Michoacán residents add pork rinds, Colima residents enjoy it with queso fresco (white cheese), and in coastal areas it is common to add sardines and other small fish. The best known recipe, however,  is from Jalisco, prepared with pork and dried poblano peppers.

Posole is usually served at celebrations, like birthdays, Dia de los Muretos (Day of the Dead), and Christmas.  The Aztecs, however, had their own recipe for posole. During the celebrations in honor of god Xipe (the God of Agriculture and the Seasons), Emperor Moctezuma was served a huge pozole dish, crowned with the thigh of a sacrificed prisoner.  In fact, the earliest history of posole states that the broth & hominy were cooked with the flesh of sacrificed prisoners.  When cannibalism was outlawed, chicken and pork took the place of people.

Yum.

Now, for the recipe.

The style posole I make is the Jalisco style.  I haven’t tried any of the other variations, but I’d bet the Michoacán style, with the pork rinds, is amazing.

A quick note, I include quantities for both whole chiles as well as the powdered equivalents.  I  made this recipe with the powders.  They are both equally good, but I find making the recipe with the powders easier and quicker.  However, it is up to you.

The Ingredients

The spices, a closer look. Clockwise from top: Black Pepper, Salt, Cumin, Ancho Chile Powder, Pasilla Chile Powder, Mexican Oregano, Chipotle Chile Powder

3 lb. pork shoulder, cut into 2″ pieces, or, country-style ribs (be sure to keep any bone)

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

4 ea. whole Ancho chiles, or, 2 tbsp. Ancho chile powder

2 ea. whole Guajillo or Pasilla chiles, or, 1 tbsp. ground Guajillo or Pasilla chile powder (NOTE: Guajillo chile powder is usually sold as “ground chile pepper”)

1 ea. whole Chipotle chile, or, 1/2 tsp. ground Chipotle chile powder

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

10 cloves garlic, minced

2 med. white onions, diced

2 tsp. dried Mexican oregano

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 cans hominy, drained

Condiments:  lime wedges, shredded green cabbage, dried Mexican oregano, minced onion, corn tortillas

The Condiments: Corn Tortillas, Lime Wedges, Onion, Dried Mexican Oregano, Shredded Cabbage

1.  Prepare the chiles: (If you have clean latex gloves, now is the time to use them.)  Remove the stems and seeds from the chiles.  Place them in a small bowl and cover with 2 cups of boiling water.  Weigh down the chiles (a small plate will be sufficient) and let them soak for about 30 minutes.  Remove the chiles from the soaking liquid and place them in a blender with just enough of the soaking liquid, if needed, to make a smooth puree.  Set aside.

*If you are using the chile powders instead, skip Step 1.

2.  In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Brown the pork, in batches.  You just want to sear , not cook the pork all the way through.  Remove the pork from the heat and set aside.  If you have any bones, sear them as well.

Searing the pork

3.  Add the onion and garlic to the stockpot and cook until the onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes.  The moisture from the onions will help to release all those browned goodies stuck to the bottom of the pan after the meat has been browned.

Browning the onions and garlic. Note the clean pan bottom.

Add the chile puree or chile powders and the other spices.  Cook another 2 – 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Be sure not to burn the spices.

The onions and garlic with the spices.

4.  Add the pork and any bones you may have seared back into the stockpot.  Add just enough water or broth to cover the meat.  Cover and bring the liquid to a boil.  Partially uncover, lower the heat to medium-low and cook for an hour, stirring occasionally. (The bones will add a lot of flavor to the broth.)

The pork added back to the pot and mixed with the onions, garlic, and the spices.

After adding the chicken broth.

5.  After the first hour of cooking, add the hominy.  Uncover the stockpot completely and continue cooing until the meat is tender, about another 30 – 45 minutes.  (Be sure to test the meat for tenderness about every 15 minutes after the first hour.  You want the meat to be fork tender and easy to shred.  Even though you’re essentially braising the pork, it can dry if you overcook it.)

Adding the hominy after the first hour of cooking. Note the change in color of the broth.

Remove the meat from the broth and set it aside until cool enough to handle. Discard the bones, if you have any.  Either chop or shred the meat and add it back to the broth.  Taste for seasoning.

The shredded pork.

The finished posole. The hominy helps to thicken the broth.

6.  Serve the posole with corn tortillas.  Pass around the garnishes and let everyone serve themselves.

Dinner!

Enjoy!