The first time I had posole – when I was visiting Santa Fe, New Mexico for the very first time, I was blown away with the intense flavors. I attended a cooking class in Santa Fe and learned some of the nuances, and about the important New Mexico chiles and/or powder that must be in it. Whenever I see posole on a menu I usually order it. But really, it’s not hard to make, and I think this recipe is as good, if not better, than any I’ve ever had at a restaurant. It freezes well, too, although the toppings must be made within an hour or so of serving.
I made this a couple of weeks ago when we were visiting our Northern California family, and the grandkids could pick and choose which toppings they wanted on their soup. Our 17-year old grandson doesn’t like vegetables, he says. Pushes them around his plate to avoid eating them, and he picked all around the veggies in this soup. Our granddaughter, though, is game for tasting almost anything (thank you, Taylor! – she reads my blog) and she liked this soup and ate it all.
The soup is pork based – this one uses country style ribs. They are slow cooked for a couple of hours, then the mixture (including the broth) gets refrigerated overnight. Now, you don’t have to do that step, but it makes for a healthier soup since you can remove the fat from the meat and the broth before proceeding. The dried New Mexico chiles are an essential ingredient – I hope you can buy them at your local market like I can. Anyway, the chiles are soaked in water for half an hour, then made into a thin puree in the blender (with some added onion, garlic, salt and water
).
The actual soup preparation is easy. I actually add some vegetables to my posole. It’s likely not traditional, but this soup isn’t billed as an authentic posole anyway. You can add what types of veggies you like – I used carrots, more onion, and because I had one, I charred a pasilla chile and added that chopped up as well. The hominy, though, is a necessity. Mostly this stew is all about the hominy. You can find hominy in the canned vegetable aisle. You could substitute other beans, but it definitely wouldn’t be a New Mexican style posole that way. If you don’t like hominy, use canned pinto beans instead. Pictured here you can see the big bag of shredded, chilled pork, all ready to be poured into the soup.
The garnishes, though, are what make this dish. Truly they do. You simply must have some corn tortillas chips. You can use packaged chips – or visit your local Mexican restaurant and buy a small bag of their homemade chips if you don’t want to make your own. Do add the finely shredded Romaine lettuce, some diced avocado, radishes (very finely sliced or diced), some freshly chopped cilantro and if you really want to cap it off, serve with a couple of lime wedges on the side of each bowl.
This would make a very fun company meal – especially if you make oodles of toppings to put out. Cheese isn’t traditional, but maybe some of the Mexican crumbly white cheese (queso fresco) would be good too. The finished soup flavor is spicy, but not overwhelmingly hot. The dried chiles add a really delicious depth to the soup, and a gorgeous red/orange color. This soup is really flavorful!
Pork and Hominy Stew with Red Chiles and Avocado
Recipe By: Adapted from a recipe by Susan Vollmer, A Store for Cooks, Feb. 2011
Serving Size: 8
NOTES: DO make the pork the day before – so you can refrigerate the broth mixture and remove all the fat before you proceed with the soup portion.
PORK:
1 head garlic — (save 2 cloves and set aside)
12 cups water
4 cups chicken broth
4 pounds country style pork ribs
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
RED CHILES:
2 ounces dried New Mexico red chiles
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 whole onion
2 teaspoons salt
SOUP:
1 teaspoon salt
60 ounces hominy (canned)
2 large carrots — peeled, chopped
3/4 whole onion — chopped
1 whole poblano chile — also called pasilla
GARNISHES:
1 whole avocado — diced
2 cups Romaine lettuce — shredded
1/2 cup radishes — minced
1 cup cilantro — minced
2 whole limes — cut in wedges
8 whole corn tortillas
1 cup vegetable oil, for frying the tortillas
1. Peel garlic cloves and reserve two for the chile sauce. Slice remaining garlic. In a large heavy pot bring water and broth to a boil. Add sliced garlic and pork. Skim the surface of any scum, then add dried oregano. Gently simmer, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours, until pork is tender. Ideally, make this part one day ahead so you can chill the cooking liquid and remove congealed fat the next day.
2. Meanwhile, place dried red chiles in a flat bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak for 30 minutes. Remove stems and seeds, then place chiles in blender with the onion, soaking liquid, the reserved garlic and 2 tsp. of salt.
3. Transfer pork to a cutting board and reserve broth mixture. Shred pork and discard all the bones. Rinse and drain the canned hominy.
4. Roast the pasilla (poblano) chile: if using gas, hold it over the flame until the skin has blistered and turns black. Or, broil on all sides until the skin blisters. Remove chile and place in plastic bag. Set aside for about 15 minutes to cool. Remove from bag and remove black, blistered skin, cut into pieces (removing stem and seeds).
5. Strain pork liquid and return to pot. Bring to a simmer and add carrots and onion. Simmer for about 10 minutes, then add the pasilla chile, reserved shredded pork and canned hominy. Simmer for about 10-30 minutes and serve.
6. Fry the tortillas, cut into strips, in hot vegetable oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
6. GARNISHES: Place all the garnishes out for your diners to select whichever ones they wish to eat. Place about 1 1/2 cups of the posole/hominy stew in a wide bowl and hand each one to your guests.
Per Serving: 302 Calories; 7g Fat (21.5% calories from fat); 9g Protein; 52g Carbohydrate; 9g Dietary Fiber; trace Cholesterol; 1701mg Sodium.
A year ago: Plum Compote (oooh, that was delicious – try it during plum season)
Three years ago: Iceberg Wedge with Blue Cheese
Melynda@Moms Sunday Cafe
said on March 29th, 2011:
This sounds delicious. A great dish to make when the family comes to dinner. thanks.
Let me know what you think of it! . . . carolyn t