Dinner Tonight: Meatless Pozole Verde (Hominy Soup)
The original recipe from the Inquisitive Palate called for a slow simmering pork stew, punctuated with acidic tomatillos, soft hominy, and a mound full of garnishes, but I just didn't have the time. So I got rid of the pork from the recipe and it went from taking nearly 2 hours to complete, to more like 45 minutes. More importantly, the resulting soup was light and delicious, and a perfect fit for for the two of us who needed a break from holiday over-indulgence.
Light certainly doesn't mean the same thing as bland. The chiles and toasted pumpkin seeds kept the soup lively and interesting. And if that isn't enough, we only hit the tip of the iceberg on garnishes. The wife and I only used radishes, oregano, and a little lime juice. But you can go crazy adding cilantro, onions, cabbage, chopped tomatoes, and even sour cream. It's up to you and your schedule. This abbreviated dish worked wonders for us.
Meatless Pozole Verde (Hominy Soup)
- serves 3 to 4 -
Ingredients
1 fifteen-ounce can hominy
1 cup raw hulled pumpkin seeds
2 serrano chiles, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1/2 pound tomatillos, husk removed and chopped
2 tablespoons chopped white onion
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 radishes, greens removed and thinly sliced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 limes, cut into wedges
Procedure
1. Dump the pumpkin seeds into a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until seeds are lightly browned. Remove and let cool for a minute. Then grind in a food processor or blender. Set aside.
2. Toss the tomatillos and salt into a pot. Cover with water by an inch. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 10 minutes. Drain the tomatillos and transfer to a food processor. Add the serrano chiles, onion, and stock to the food processor. Process until smooth.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When hot, carefully pour in the tomatillo mixture. Sprinkle in the ground pumpkin seeds. Stir constantly until mixture has thickened, around 7 minutes.
4. Transfer the tomatillo mixture to a large pot, and add the hominy along with its liquid. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 30 minutes.
5. When done, ladle into bowl, season with salt to taste and top with radishes, a sprinkling of oregano, and a squeeze of lime juice.
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2 Comments:
For another fantastic and meatless posole verde, check out Steve Sando's recipe over at Rancho Gordo:
http://www.ranchogordo.com/html/rg_cook_posoleverde.htm
I've made it a number of times, always to rave reviews. Plus the recipe makes a LOT so there are always plenty of leftovers for lunches the following week.
VMBrasseur at 9:58PM on 12/29/08
Ahem, chicken stock is not really meatless, unless the chicken was vegetarian (ever wonder what parts of the chicken end up in those boullion cubes?). Hard to believe that at only 1/4 cup it could not be replaced with water and salt with no real loss of taste (particularly if the stock is not homemade). That said, it would probably also benefit by some chopped cilantro.
bauwau2u at 9:27AM on 12/30/08