Castañeda Posole

[Chris Amirault]

Castañeda Posole

Serves 6 as Main Dish.

This is Susan Castañeda's family recipe for posole; I've edited it slightly, following my tendencies as a tinkering son-in-law. The simplicity of the recipe belies its excellence: there's no better way to bring out the harmony of pig and corn in a bowl.

NB: instead of dried hominy you can use 2 29 oz cans of hominy. Just skip the first step below, but do drain the hominy.

• 3 c dried hominy
  
• 2 T oil or lard
  
• 3 c pork shoulder, cut into 3/4" cubes
  
• 1 c medium onions, chopped
  
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1 T ancho powder
  
• 1 T chipotle powder or paste (or to taste)
  
• 1/4 c jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
  
• 1 tsp Mexican oregano
  
• 1 tsp ground cumin
  
• 1 T salt
  
• 1 tsp black pepper
  
• 6 c stock (chicken, pork, or beef works fine; smoked is even better)
  
• 2 c tomatoes, skinned, seeded, and chopped
  
• 1/2 c cilantro, chopped
  
• 2 limes, quartered
  

1. The night before you plan to prepare the meal, soak the hominy overnight with at least two inches of water above the hominy. Drain the next day, then simmer for 2-3 hours until just tender. Drain again.

2. Salt and pepper the pork. Heat the oil or lard in a heavy pot until almost smoking, and brown each cube of pork well in the fat. Do not crowd. Remove each cube from pot as it's browned.

3. Pour off excess fat and add the onion. Sauté the onion until it's slightly browned; add the garlic and sauté it briefly. Be sure to scrape up the fond (the brown bits) from the pork.

4. Add ancho, chipotle, jalapeño, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper and sauté them for about a minute. Add the tomatoes and sauté them for a minute. Add the stock and pork, bring to a boil, and simmer for 2 hours, or until the pork is just tender.

5. Add the hominy and heat through, about ten minutes. Serve with the cilantro and lime.

Keywords: Soup, Main Dish, Easy, Dinner, Hot and Spicy, Mexican

( RG1921 )