Posole

E adapted this recipe to her liking, using canned hominy and adding chicken. It came out great, and we’ve made it about three times already. It can be made with or without the chicken — it’s good vegetarian too.

Ingredients

Soup
1 28 oz can hominy, drained
1 small white onion, diced
3 medium garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
3 dried red New Mexican chile peppers, stems removed (not too spicy)
1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
1 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into chunks
3 1/2 quarts water

Colorado sauce
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp finely diced white
2 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup ground red chile
1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
2 1/2 c water
a quarter of one lime

Garnishes
tortilla strips, crumbled queso fresco or feta, toasted dried Mexican oregano

Directions

Place hominy in a large heavy pot, 3 1/2 quarts of water, the chicken, the onion, garlic, chile peppers, and oregano. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the hominy is tender, and many of the kernels have flowered into popcorn shapes. This can take anywhere from 1 1/2 to 3 hours. Season with a couple teaspoons of salt roughly halfway through the cooking process. Season again once the posole is fully cooked.

In the meantime, make the red sauce by combining the olive oil, onion, garlic, and oregano in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir continuously until the onion takes on a bit of color, a few minutes. Add the flour and cumin, and stir for a minute or two or until the flour browns a bit. Whisk the chile into 2 1/2 cups and pour it into the saucepan, whisking all the while. Stir until the sauce thickens a bit, dial down the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for fifteen minutes or so. Stir in a squeeze of fresh lime juice, and season with the salt, adding more to taste if necessary. Set aside until the posole has finished cooking.

Stir 1/2 cup of the red sauce into the pot of posole, and add more to taste. Spoon the posole into bowls and top with tortilla strips, cheese, and oregano.