Pozole Verde

On Saturday, Melis and I did some fall soup cooking!  We conducted our own “Battle of the Pozoles---Rojo vs. Verde”.  You can find the info for the Pozole Rojo recipe here.  On the flip side of that delicious coin is Rojo’s sassy cousin, Pozole Verde.  The green version is everything the red is not.  Where the red has earthiness, the green has tang… the red is robust, the green is piquant.  BOTH are delicious.

Tomatillos lend a snappy tartness to the base of this soup.  The chile peppers and herbs balance perfectly with the chicken and hominy.  It’s a full meal in a bowl….hearty and refreshing at the same time.  Add delicious garnishes like avocado, sour cream, purple cabbage and cilantro and it’s like a fiesta in a bowl!  

I always make a double batch of Pozole Verde and TRY to get some in the freezer before it all gets eaten.  It freezes beautifully!

Pozole Verde

Inspired by an amalgamation of internet recipes; this is our final perfected version.

• 8 cups chicken stock
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, poached and shredded
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound tomatillos, husked and quartered
• 2 poblano peppers, seeded and diced
• 2 serrano peppers, seeded and diced
• 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano leaves
• 3 15 oz. cans hominy, drained and rinsed
• Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish items: diced avocado, shredded purple cabbage, sour cream, lime wedges, serrano slices and tortilla chips.

Poach your chicken breast and set aside.  To perfectly poach chicken, follow these steps:  Put chicken breasts in a pot and cover with stock or well seasoned water.  Bring to a boil then quickly reduce to a simmer.  Partly cover and simmer for 10 minutes.  Turn heat off completely and allow chicken to remain in hot water for 15 minutes.  Remove, cool slightly and shred.

In a large pot, heat olive oil to medium, sauté onions and garlic until softened. Add tomatillos, poblanos, serranos, oregano, cilantro and 2 cups of chicken stock.  Boil till softened, about 20 minutes.  Using a stick blender, blend till the mix is the correct consistency of smoothness for your preference (just go buy a stick blender …they’re awesome…but if you live a million miles away from a Target, you certainly can carefully blend this in batches in your blender).  Add remaining stock, hominy and shredded chicken to the soup base, heat through.  Adjust seasoning.

Line up the garnish buffet, load up your bowl, crack a cold Sol beer and enjoy this amazing soup!

ENJOY!
~Julie