Posole

My culinary trip to New Mexico wouldn't be complete without preparing posole.  A soup made with hominy (white corn), the dish also traditionally features pork and the ubiquitous New Mexican chiles.  Thanks to the amazing folks at Match meats, it's possible for a vegan to make posole using Match pork.

Ingredients:

• 18 ounces Match pork, thawed
• Cooking spray
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 2/3 cup Roasted Anaheim Chiles
• 1 tablespoon New Mexico chile powder*
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (29-ounce) drained can white hominy
• 1 and 3/4 cups vegan chicken broth (prepared from Not Chick'n bouillon)
• 1 and 3/4 cups vegan beef broth (prepared from Not Beef bouillon)
• 3/4 cup crushed baked tortilla chips**
• 6 tablespoons thinly sliced radishes
• 6 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 6 lime wedges

1. Heat a Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.  Cut the Match pork into 5 or 6 pieces and add to the pan; cook for 2 minutes on each side.  Add the onion and garlic; saute for 2 minutes.

2. Stir in the Anaheim chiles, chile powder, coriander, cumin, oregano, salt, hominy, and both the chicken and beef broths; bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1 and 1/2 hours.

Note: if you're pressed for time, you don't technically need to simmer the stew this long; Match pork cooks far faster than real pork, and about 20 minutes should be enough.  However, I wanted to let my stew simmer so the flavors could really blend.  It also meant that the wonderful, simmering soup lived up to its name - posole, after all, means "foamy."

3. Remove the pork pieces from the soup and chop into bite-sized pieces; return to the pan.  Ladle 1 and 1/3 cups of soup into each of 6 bowls.  Top each serving with 2 tablespoons crushed chips, 1 tablespoon radishes, 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion, 2 teaspoons cilantro, and 1 lime wedge.

*For the full run down on New Mexico chile powder, see my post for New Mexican Red Chile Sauce.

**The easiest way to crush the tortilla chips is to place in a zip-top plastic bag and crumble with your fingers or a rolling pin into smaller pieces.

Nutrition Info:
6 servings (1 and 1/3 cups soup, 2 tablespoons chips, 1 tablespoon radishes, 1 tablespoon onion, 2 teaspoons cilantro, 1 lime wedge), Calories 263 

Tasting Notes:
A super flavorful soup - the broth was similarly spiced to chile, but the ingredients were fresher and lighter.  I particularly loved the crunch of the tortilla chips on top, the peppery contrasting bite of the radish, the fresh spritz of lime, and the chewy texture of the hominy.  I haven't had much hominy in the past, but while eating this soup it occurred to me that it's kind of a chewy version of popcorn - yum!  This soup is a meal in itself, no need to prepare anything extra on the side.  

Rating:
4