Posole or Pozole

I'm not an expert on mexican cuisine, but judging from the number of variations I've seen of this dish I gather it's pretty ubiquitous in some form from region to region. And spelled a couple of ways too. I saw a version of Posole rojo once and the deep red broth with little bits of hominy bobbing up made it look pretty appetizing. It's often made with pork, but I when I thought of this I had a roasted chicken lying around from a family gathering the night before, so in it went.

It's an easy soup and comes together very quickly if you use pre-cooked meat. Aside from the hominy and the dried chiles, neither of which are expensive, the ingredients are probably in your pantry already. The hominy have a nice plumpness, chewy texture, and give the soup a corny tortilla flavor. The base is a vibrant peppery one making you anticipate a burst of heat, but instead it mellows out. Of course, that could change if you wanted the heat.

Ingredients:
1 3-5 lb. chicken, cooked, meat pulled off bones and shredded by hand
2 16 oz. cans of hominy, white or golden, drained
1 large onion, diced
1 clove plus 2 cloves garlic
4-5 large dried chile peppers (I used New Mexico chiles, very mild but go with a hotter variety if you want)
1 teaspoon chile powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano, mexican if you have it
1/2 tube tomato paste
48 oz. (6 cups) low sodium chicken broth or water
12 oz. light beer
5 tablespoons olive oil
optional: hot pepper flakes


Optional garnishes:
raw onion, diced
cilantro
lime juice
queso fresco
bell pepper, diced
tortilla chips


Equipment:
Dutch oven or heavy bottom pot for making soup
blender
Pot for heating broth


Begin by bringing the broth or water up to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Place the dried chiles, stems removed, into the blender with 1 clove of garlic, and then pour enough of the heated liquid over to cover them and let them steep 10-20 minutes. Blend everything together to liquefy.


Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium low heat, and when hot add the onions and garlic and sweat them 10 minutes or so, just until they brown slightly. Add the chile powder, oregano and cumin and let cook 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and let cook 3 minutes until it turns a rusty color. Deglaze with the beer. Add the pureed chile liquid and half the broth and bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.



After 20 minutes add the chicken and hominy, and more of the broth to find the soupiness or thickness that you prefer. Cook another 20 minutes, season to taste with salt, pepper and hot pepper flakes if you want more heat, and serve with optional garnishes.