I'm in a Mexican mood - and since I'm a little under the weather and trying to fight off a summer cold, I figured that I would share a pozole soup recipe.
For anyone who's never had pozole before, it's a hominy (like big corn kernels) soup with braised meat and a tomato-chili based broth and served with cilantro and lime. The first time I had pozole was over 10 years ago, when my then-boyfriend and I visited his parents - it was something that I had never had before, yet so delicious (as a side note, there were only 2 things that I got out of that relationship once it ended - my love for tequila and his mom's authentic Mexican rice recipe...hehehe) - the meat (pork shoulder) was so tender and yet felt light while it swam in the thin tomato-chili consomme, and the brightness of the cilantro and lime made the dish come together in perfect balance.
In this revamped version, I replaced the pork shoulder with chicken thigh meat, which has less fat and still has a similar texture to pork shoulder when braised. Also, as a shortcut to the original recipe, I used enchilada sauce along with a mixture of ancho chili, cumin and cayenne pepper so that this dish would still have an authentic flavor, yet still be in macros (and easier to make!).
Eat this soup when you're fighting a summer cold and you'll not only recover quickly and still eat in macros, but you'll also grow hair on your chest too! (Just kidding...maybe...hehe)
(makes 8 servings)
40 oz. boneless and skinless chicken thighs
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. no-salt chicken bouillon
2 tsp. ancho chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. garlic
2 large onions
1 cup hot enchilada sauce
5 cups water
2 29-oz. cans of hominy, rinsed
1 cup cilantro, chopped
8 oz. lime juice
1. Chop onions and trim excess fat from chicken thighs.
2. Season chicken with 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. ancho chili and 1 tsp. cumin.
3. In a stock pot or dutch oven under medium heat, pour 1/2 of olive oil and add chicken, searing both sides for 3-5 minutes. Remove from the pot and set aside.
4. Add garlic and onions to the pot and saute for 2-3 minutes, or until fragrant. Add chicken back into the pot and pour enchilada sauce, chicken bouillon, remaining ancho and cumin powders, cayenne pepper, oregano, salt, remaining oil, and water.
5. Reduce temperature to low heat and cover. Let chicken simmer for 2-3 hours, or until chicken is tender enough to shred easily with a fork.
6. Rinse hominy under cold water and add to the pot with the chicken. Let soup simmer for another 10 minutes.
7. Serve with cilantro and lime juice.
Labels: ancho, cayenne, chicken, chicken bouillon, cilantro, cumin, enchilada sauce, garlic, hominy, lime, mexican, olive oil, onion, oregano, recipe
