Pozole

Ingredients:

• 4 liters Water
• 2 heads Garlic, whole cloves, peeled
• 2 white Onions, chopped, rinsed in a strainer with fresh water to remove harshness.
• 30 grams dried Oregano
• 4 Chiles Guajillo
• 50 grams Chiles de Arbol (or a few depending on your heat tolerance)
• Salt to taste
• 1 Chicken, cut up (or bone-in pork or peeled shrimp+)
• 1 bag Maize Pozolero (Hominy)*
• Garnishes listed below

Place water and first 5 ingredients in large stock pot and bring to boil; simmer for one hour. Remove Guajillo chiles, seed, and put into a blender with a little broth. Liquefy, pour liquid through a small sieve back into the broth. Lower heat to simmer. Add chicken pieces or pork and simmer until meat is tender and cooked through, 30 minutes or more.Cool broth. Degrease if necessary. Set aside.

De-bone meat, pull or cut into small pieces. Add meat back to pozolé. At this point, pozolé can be refrigerated until ready to use. When ready to serve, bring back to boiling, add hominy*, simmer for 5 minutes. Serve in large soup bowls with fresh warm tortillas and garnishes.

+For Shrimp pozole add the shrimp at the same time as the hominy; simmer until pink and cooked through.

For Garnishes

• Fresh lime wedges
• Crumbled queso fresca
• Sliced radishes
• Chopped Cilantro
• Shredded cabbage or lettuce
• Chopped green onions or scallions
• Chopped Tomatoes
• Avocado slices or cubes
• Salsa picante

*Hominy is available in many forms: Dried which needs to be soaked until tender and rinsed well; canned which can be rinsed. Ask for prepared packages found in refrigerator units at markets. Prepared is the easiest, it is ready to use. Unused portions can be frozen.

By Marilyn Miller of Guayabitos Bed and Breakfast