Posole is on most restaurant menus in New Mexico all year, but around Christmas is when I always make it at home. One of my favorite holiday meals was the latkes and posole Cassie and I made one year. Everyone's posole tastes slightly different depending on the amount of meat, heat of the chile, choice of herbs, type of hominy, etc. I like using uncooked hominy that's been soaked and is sold frozen. Cassie prefers canned hominy which is less chewy and always liked my friend Patsy's posole better than mine I think. This is actually the first time I've written down my recipe and it makes a big pot so I can always have some in the freezer. I've had a bowl every day for the last 4 days and never get tired of posole.
Put in a large soup pot: 4 quarts water
2 pounds uncooked frozen hominy, thawed
2 pounds boneless pork cut in 1" cubes
2 large onions, chopped fine
3 Tblsp. hot red chile powder (I use a kind of pelleted red chile made
locally)
3 Tblsp. mild red chile powder (same as above)
6 cloves minced garlic
2 Tblsp. oregano
1 Tblsp. cumin seed
1 Tblsp. thyme
2 Tblsp. salt
Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to med low and simmer for about 4 hours. Add more water
as hominy absorbs it, maybe about 2 qts. more. It's done when the meat is very tender and the hominy looks like it's kind of turned inside out and is tender.
When I visited Las Cruces over the Thanksgiving holiday, I sampled two different restaurant posoles, and when I got back to New England I tried a "gourmet" version at a hipster restaurant that was about three times the price of the quite delicious bowls I got in New Mexico. All three were wonderful, and all three were quite meaty (especially the hipster version, which of course featured the trendiest of pig parts: the cheek).
I didn't get around to making my own posole, however, until after the new year, and well after I felt the need to lighten my cooking. So I set out to make a vegetarian version - a blasphemous concept, perhaps, but a tasty one that is more in line with my own post-holiday cooking style. Please keep in mind that this really doesn't taste like traditional posole. But it does taste good, and it does contain the signature ingredient, hominy. It's also, in my mind, a healthy and satisfying dish that is perfectly appropriate for January: warming, spicy, and full of vegetables.
I found this recipe on the Huffington Post. I've never tried another recipe from the site; this one was quite good although I found the incorporation of out-of-season ingredients (like zucchini and corn on the cob) somewhat strange. Here is my modified version of the recipe, which I really loved. The original recipe can be found here.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1-3 small fresh chiles, or dried chiles, depending on desired heat
2 quarts vegetable stock
1 lime, juiced
3 tabelspoons green salsa
1 bunch cilantro, stems and leaves separated, stems tied tightly with kitchen twine
1 medium potato, diced
1 29-ounce can hominy, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 medium-sized winter squash, semi-roasted so it can be peeled and diced (but is not fully cooked, so it doesn't fall apart in the soup - I used kabocha)
1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
add to taste at the end:
chipotle powder
salt and pepper
lime juice (I added the juice of one full lime at the end)
for garnishing:
shredded cabbage
diced cotija cheese
cilantro leaves
Directions:
Warm oil over medium heat. Add onion, oregano, and chiles; cook until onions just begin to brown. Add toasted cumin and cook for a few more seconds. Pour in all the stock, the juice of one lime, and the salsa. Throw in the cilantro stems. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. While the broth simmers for about 10 minutes, prepare the vegetables.
Add potato and bring to a boil. Reduce, again, to a simmer; add hominy, corn, and squash. When potatoes are soft, add pinto beans. Warm through and add chipotle powder, salt and pepper, and additional lime juice, to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cabbage, cotija, and cilantro.
Enjoy!
ANN'S POSOLE
Put in a large soup pot: 4 quarts water
2 pounds uncooked frozen hominy, thawed
2 pounds boneless pork cut in 1" cubes
2 large onions, chopped fine
3 Tblsp. hot red chile powder (I use a kind of pelleted red chile made
locally)
3 Tblsp. mild red chile powder (same as above)
6 cloves minced garlic
2 Tblsp. oregano
1 Tblsp. cumin seed
1 Tblsp. thyme
2 Tblsp. salt
Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to med low and simmer for about 4 hours. Add more water
as hominy absorbs it, maybe about 2 qts. more. It's done when the meat is very tender and the hominy looks like it's kind of turned inside out and is tender.
CASSIE'S (POST-SEASON) "POSOLE"
*added January 9, 2014
When I visited Las Cruces over the Thanksgiving holiday, I sampled two different restaurant posoles, and when I got back to New England I tried a "gourmet" version at a hipster restaurant that was about three times the price of the quite delicious bowls I got in New Mexico. All three were wonderful, and all three were quite meaty (especially the hipster version, which of course featured the trendiest of pig parts: the cheek).
I didn't get around to making my own posole, however, until after the new year, and well after I felt the need to lighten my cooking. So I set out to make a vegetarian version - a blasphemous concept, perhaps, but a tasty one that is more in line with my own post-holiday cooking style. Please keep in mind that this really doesn't taste like traditional posole. But it does taste good, and it does contain the signature ingredient, hominy. It's also, in my mind, a healthy and satisfying dish that is perfectly appropriate for January: warming, spicy, and full of vegetables.
I found this recipe on the Huffington Post. I've never tried another recipe from the site; this one was quite good although I found the incorporation of out-of-season ingredients (like zucchini and corn on the cob) somewhat strange. Here is my modified version of the recipe, which I really loved. The original recipe can be found here.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1-3 small fresh chiles, or dried chiles, depending on desired heat
2 quarts vegetable stock
1 lime, juiced
3 tabelspoons green salsa
1 bunch cilantro, stems and leaves separated, stems tied tightly with kitchen twine
1 medium potato, diced
1 29-ounce can hominy, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 medium-sized winter squash, semi-roasted so it can be peeled and diced (but is not fully cooked, so it doesn't fall apart in the soup - I used kabocha)
1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
add to taste at the end:
chipotle powder
salt and pepper
lime juice (I added the juice of one full lime at the end)
for garnishing:
shredded cabbage
diced cotija cheese
cilantro leaves
Directions:
Warm oil over medium heat. Add onion, oregano, and chiles; cook until onions just begin to brown. Add toasted cumin and cook for a few more seconds. Pour in all the stock, the juice of one lime, and the salsa. Throw in the cilantro stems. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. While the broth simmers for about 10 minutes, prepare the vegetables.
Add potato and bring to a boil. Reduce, again, to a simmer; add hominy, corn, and squash. When potatoes are soft, add pinto beans. Warm through and add chipotle powder, salt and pepper, and additional lime juice, to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cabbage, cotija, and cilantro.
Enjoy!
