{"id":2881,"date":"2023-04-08T15:15:31","date_gmt":"2023-04-08T19:15:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.agooddish.com\/?p=2881"},"modified":"2023-04-08T19:11:53","modified_gmt":"2023-04-08T23:11:53","slug":"red-chicken-posole-a-spicy-mexican-soup-with-vegetables-and-hominy-posole-is-a-delicious-and-complete-meal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.agooddish.com\/?p=2881","title":{"rendered":"Red Chicken Posole, Spicy Mexican Soup With Vegetables And Hominy (Posole), Makes A Delicious and Complete Meal"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Prepared posole soup<\/span>
Bowls by Hunter Saxton<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Posole, a spicy Mexican soup made with the alkalinized<\/a> corn of the same name (also known as hominy<\/a>), is one of my favorite soups. It is flavorful, spicy to your preference, full of chewy corn and vegetables and can be garnished individually by each eater. Winter may be officially over but there will be plenty of chilly evenings when a bowl of posole will be a welcome meal. A friend told me her husband made a similar spicy Mexican chicken soup but with matzo balls this week. Please report in if you try a variation!\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I received the recently published Rancho Gordo book on Pozole<\/a> (the Mexican spelling) as a holiday gift and have been trying out some of the many recipes. I prefer the chicken rather than the pork-based broth, which always seems too meaty and fatty for my taste, but some of you may love the richer version. The recipe I landed on is a combination of several of the chicken versions from the book and my old recipe<\/a> (with cumin and oregano) plus a little whir of the stick blender to thicken the soup.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Toast seeded and stemmed (guajillo and ancho) chilies<\/span>
briefly in a dry, hot pan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Soak toasted chilies before blending<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can buy prepared canned hominy\/posole although it is truly better to cook the dried kernels yourself for both flavor and texture and to have the cooking liquid to add to your soup. But if you don\u2019t have the time (you do have to soak and cook a few hours) or inclination, buy canned. Just make sure you rinse well to get rid of the salty packing liquid. This canned posole\/hominy will be a bit softer and milder than if you cook it yourself but in such flavorful soup, you can get away with it. Some sources for dry, besides Rancho Gordo<\/a>, are Los Chileros<\/a> (organic) and Anson Mills<\/a> (not nixtamalized<\/a>) and for prepared, options include Goya, Natural Value (organic), La Preferida and Juanita\u2019s. Order Rancho Gordo and Anson Mills online while the others are available in urban grocery or health food stores.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Organic canned hominy is now available<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Dried posole ready to soak and cook<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To cook dry posole\/hominy, first soak it overnight. Then cover with 1-2\u201d of water or broth, bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook 2-2 1\/2 hours, partially covered. To add more flavor, cook with a chili pepper or two, some oregano and a few smashed cloves of garlic. Simmer until tender and blossomed (most kernels should \u201cflower\u201d when cooked) and add salt to taste. I think cooked posole kernels with butter and a little salt make a delicious side dish when you want a different starch for a change, comforting like buttered pasta.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Simmer soaked posole<\/span>
with garlic, oregano and chilies<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I posted a posole recipe the first year I started this blog. I think that recipe<\/a> (made using leftover Thanksgiving turkey) still holds its own but the posole I have been making recently doesn\u2019t use tomatoes or chili powder. Rather, it gets its flavor from toasted, soaked and pur\u00e9ed chili peppers. You can use boxed stock if you don\u2019t have homemade or time to make stock but, as with the actual posole\/hominy, homemade will be tastier and you\u2019ll have cooked chicken to add to the soup. You could even use vegetable stock, leave out the chicken and add a wider variety of vegetables(think chayote, beans, even potatoes) if you wanted a vegetarian version. The amounts of seasonings are adjustable according to your preferences. Each eater can get creative here with which garnishes they choose to add. Put out bowls of chopped cilantro (since not everyone loves it), chopped or sliced avocado, chopped onions, thinly sliced raw cabbage or lettuce, oregano, sliced radishes, finely diced jalape\u00f1os or Serrano (more heat) peppers, cut fresh limes and tortilla chips to crumble in. Delicious, flavorful and fun!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Red Chicken Posole<\/span>
Bowls by Hunter Saxton<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

RED (CHICKEN) POSOLE<\/span><\/p>\n