When I'm at work, I often frequent a Mexican restaurant Las Montanas for lunch. While we refer to it as "the Pozole" place, pozole’s not their signature dish- it's the one that draws us repeatedly. Not cheap, the pozole/posole is a large, tasty, meaty, chunky soup with a very satisfying, nutty chew. The fresh raw vegetables are crisp and clean, adding sharpness and a 3D structure to a slow cooked soup brimming nasal clearing pepper and other spices. That's why I was super excited to get an email from a friend Andrea with a set of totally awesome recipes that strikes a chord of familiarity. Here's the first recipe I'm trying.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/108031
HOMINY AND PORK SOUP WITH ARBOL CHILE SAUCE
Pozole Blanco con Salsa de Chile de Árbol
Anywhere you see italics, I'm straying from the original recipe. I've also omitted things from the original recipe, but I've indicated this with strike. I like my soup to have a complex flavor profile so I've added more ingredients, spices and herbs etc. I've also changed the amounts slightly since I'm mostly only cooking for me, (I hate having to eat the same thing too many days in a row, but my twin will prolly beg for some which helps). Also the whole point of this soup is the pozole, so it's best to make that from scratch. You'd be surprised at how easy it is to find the treated and dried corn Nixtamal, just keep asking around, someone's got a source. However it takes pre-soaking overnite plus approximately 4 hours of cooking to get the chewy nutty corn kernels ready to eat. So you may choose to use the canned hominy instead for a faster result. (I find the canned stuff a little bland and mealy in texture. So you know what gets my vote.)
Árbol chile sauce
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 tbs pepitas (pumpkin) seeds
2 tbs sesame seeds
2 cups dried árbol chiles*, stemmed (about 1 1/2 ounces)
2 cups boiling water
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground allspice
Garnish
3 limes cut into wedges
2 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
1 cup chopped white onion
1 cup thinly sliced radishes
1 cup cilantro
Soup
2 cups nixtamal pre-saoked
12 cups cooking water for nixtamal
1 whole onion, chopped
2 1/2 pounds meaty pork neck bones soaked in cold water
3 1/2 pounds pigs' feet neckbones were on sale...
1 pound country-style pork ribs
8 cups stock
1 tbs fine sea salt
1 tsp oregano
1-2 Mexican bay leaves
1 large garlic head, peeled
2 tbs chi soup seasoning
For árbol chile sauce:
1. Cook garlic cloves in heavy small skillet over medium-low heat until beginning to soften and blacken in spots, turning occasionally. Cool and peel garlic.
2. Toast sesame seeds or pumpkin seeds in the same skillet. Stir over medium-low heat until golden, about 6 minutes.
3. Combine chiles and 2 cups boiling water in medium bowl. Let stand until chiles soften and water is cool, about 2 hours. Drain, reserving soaking liquid.
4. Chop chiles and place in blender (with seeds- adjust amount based on heat intensity). Add 1 cup reserved soaking liquid; puree until almost smooth. Add allspice, garlic, and toasted seeds; puree until smooth, adding more soaking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls to thin puree if desired.
5. Pour puree into strainer set over bowl; press on solids in strainer to extract as much liquid as possible for sauce.
6. Cover and chill sauce. (Sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead. Also freezes well)
For soup:
To prepare the nixtamal (found in Mexican grocery stores)
1. Bring 12 cups water to a boil. Add pre-soaked kernels (nixtamal), then reduce heat to a simmer until kernels "flower" or puff up (skin may split)- I like to do this step in the crock-pot due to the long cooking time. Add more water as needed. The kernels shed starch into the liquid, so at 2 1/2 hours completely drain the corn for a meatier less starchy broth. Add kernels as instructed in step 3
2. In stockpot cook chopped onion till softly sweet, brown and caramelized. Add boneless pork pieces, and neck bones, quickly searing till browned. Deglaze pan, adding all stock.
3. Bring stock to a boil. Add garlic, pozole, herbs, spices and salt; Reduce heat and simmer covered until pork and pozole are tender, about 1 hour 45 minutes. (Note: total cooking time for pozole should be at least 4 hours)
4. Using tongs, transfer meat and bones to bowl. Cool. Chill and degrease the broth. (Soup can be prepared 1 day ahead.)
5. Optional- (I like to gnaw the chunks of meat and cartilage off the bones) Pull meat in small chunks from bones; discard bones and cartilage. Shred boneless pork pieces coarsely. Return all meat to broth in pot.
6. Reheat soup before serving.
To Serve:
Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with up to 2oz sauce (to taste), limes, cabbage, onion, cilantro and radishes (These all go into the soup). Serve with whole radishes on the side.
*Thin, red, 3-inch-long dried chile that is very hot.
