First post in this group ..... Posole

[Botany]

A little taqueria (taco truck) in Columbus OH now has Posole to go w/home
made tamales.

Posole is awesome! I had never had it before .... hominy, chilies, pork,
red sauce, beans, and other good stuff served with crunchy tortillas.

[Kali]

1. mmmmmm....

posole

no beans or tortillas in my recipe, though.

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. One of my favorite all day, crock pot things to make.

I use chicken thighs. AS the cold weather approaches, so does posole weather in our house!

[Warpy]

3. Try posole verde some time

It's my hearty go-to soup in winter. I can get posole fresh frozen or dried here in NM and every supermarket carries the other stuff, as well.

I cook 1/2 pound posole until it bursts, drain and reserve a cup of its cooking liquid. I buzz 5 large to 8 small tomatillos, a clove or two of garlic, and 4-5 jalapeno peppers together in the blender (seed the peppers if you don't like it hot). I saute some ground turkey and onion in a soup pot, add the blender's contents, and cook until it changes color and is fragrant, then add the posole and cooking water plus enough chicken stock to cover the whole business. Then I simmer for half an hour to make sure the flavors are distributed and absorbed. It's great the first day and better the second and subsequent days.

You could use ground pork, also, I just prefer the turkey.

[dem in texas]

4. Red Posole

Here is a Tex-Mex version of Red Posole.

This is recipe came from Dianna Kennedy's first book on Mexican cooking, I have adjusted over the years and this is my version. I use canned hominy instead of cooking my own.

Cook some pork, about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds; butt roast or shoulder is best. Use crock pot or cook on stove. Cover meat with some water, add chopped onion, 3 or 4 garlic cloves, some Mexican oregano (milder than Italian). Salt and pepper to taste. Also, I usually add a Knorr's chicken stock cube. In addition to cooking the meat, you want a well flavored stock for the posole. Don't add a lot of water to start. but enough that you will have 3 or 4 cups pork stock when the meat is done and falling apart tender. Let meat cool. Dice meat, discard fat. Reserve the stock.

Use 4 or 5 ancho chilies. Remove stems and de-seed about half of them, if milder is desired, de-seed all. Place chilies in bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let chilies soften about 30 minutes. Place chilies and little of the chili water in blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Pour through strainer. If anchos are fresh and soft. don't need to be strained.

in soup pot, place the pork stock and the chilie puree and heat. You want a thin broth and you may need to add a little water. Add the meat and drained white hominy from a large size can. Cook on low. about 20 to 30 minutes. Add more stock or water as needed. If taste needs to be kicked up a little, add another chicken cube and salt and pepper to taste.

Garnishes - This is what makes the posole so tasty

Crispy tortilla strips - Cut some corn tortillas in thin strips and fry until crisp. If eating same day, can bake in oven instead of frying.
Radishes - cut in thin slices
Cabbage - cut in thin strips (my local store used to sell angel hair cut raw cabbage and it was perfect)
Avocados - Cut in small cubes
Onions - finely chopped
Limes - Cut in wedges for squeezing
Cheese - Monterey Jack, grated (I leave out the cheese, just my personal taste)

To Serve: Have all garnishes in small bowls on table. Serve the soup in large soup bowls and let each person add what they want to their posole.

What you want is the hardy, brothy soup contrasting with the crispy fried tortilla strips and the fresh taste of the raw vegetables.

Yum, Yum, haven't made any since last winter, but writing down the recipe makes me want to make a big batch.