Recipe first, because I know that’s why you’re here.
Ingredients:
4 cups shredded chicken*
1 red onion, chopped fine
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp oregano
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
12 ounces tomatillos (about 8 medium), husks removed and rinsed
2 jalapenos, stemmed and seeded
2 bunches fresh cilantro
2 cans white hominy, rinsed
Directions:
- Sautee onions in a little oil for 5 minutes.
- Stir in garlic for 30 seconds and add oregano and chicken broth.
- Add chicken and simmer on low heat.
- Meanwhile, roughly chop tomatillos and jalapenos. Cut off the cilantro right at the base where the leaves start.
- Add tomatillos, jalapenos, and cilantro to a blender and pour in 1/2 cup of chicken broth.
- Blend until smooth.
- Add blended ingredients to soup and stir to mix. Add hominy.
- Cook for another 10 or 15 minutes and serve.
And now, the backstory:
Posole is a traditional Mexican soup. I first had posole about 3 years ago – and it was not in Mexico. My husband and I were living in Virginia and since we both speak Spanish, we tend to gravitate towards the Hispanics where we live. We made fast friends with a Mexican family and they shortly invited us over to dinner. She told me she was going to make posole – which my husband informed me is a hominy and broth soup. I fell in love with it. I LOVE POSOLE. The flavors, the chewy hominy (which is in the corn family, if you were wondering), the tasty broth, the bits of meat. She made us a red posole, which traditionally has pork in it. I was in heaven
Years later I found a Mexican recipe book by America’s Test Kitchen (who I love!) and it has a recipe for green posole. I knew I had to try it.
This recipe is awesome and is the reason I have hominy in my cupboard on a regular basis. Shortly after I bought this book, my husband and I visited Mexico and had dinner with some friends of his.
They served us a chicken posole, with a side of tostadas. That was also life-changing (and by “life-changing” I mean “dinner-changing”). Now I had the perfect, filling side to add to my favorite soup.
Tostadas are essential crunchy tortillas – either baked or fried (I prefer baked). Then you top them with some flavorful refriend black or pinto beans, lettuce, tomato, cheese, salsa, etc. So good! Now you have a meal.
