Description
A flavorful Mexican Stew called Pozole Verde! This version is lightened up with chicken (instead of pork) and is the loveliest vibrant green! Loaded up with veggies, this makes for a healthy, delicious dinner with lots of texture and flavor. Perfect for entertaining!
Ingredients
Units
- 8 cups flavorful chicken stock (see notes)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon coriander ( see notes)
- 1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried Epazote (optional) or sub 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or use thighs)
- 4 cups cooked hominy- or three 15 oz cans rinsed and drained, divided
- 1 whole bunch cilantro, tender stems OK
Verde Sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 lb tomatillos, husked and halved (about 12 golf ball-sized tomatillos)
- 1 large onion, rough chopped
- 3 poblano peppers (medium-sized)
- 1 jalapeno, medium, seeded (use double for extra spicy)
- 6–8 fat garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
OPTIONAL Toppings: Sliced avocado, Mexican sour cream, lime wedges, crumbled queso fresco, chopped scallions, toasted pepitas, sliced radishes, thinly sliced red onion, chopped cilantro, chopped scallions, shredded cabbage, diced tomatoes, crispy tortilla chips, fresh corn kernels, black beans, hot sauce.
Instructions
- Cook the chicken: In a large heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven, bring the chicken stock, salt, coriander, cumin, oregano, epazote, cumin and pepper to a boil. Add the chicken breasts, cover and simmer gently over low heat until they’re tender and cooked through, about 25 minutes. Transfer the chicken breasts to a plate and shred the meat, skim the stock, and return the chicken back to the stock.
- Make the Verde Sauce: In a blender, add water, tomatillos, onion, garlic, poblano peppers and jalapeno garlic. Blend until smooth, scraping down sides if necessary. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and add all the tomatillo/poblano puree and simmer gently over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce turns a deep green, about 10-12 minutes.
- To the blender (no need to rinse it), ladle in 1 cup of chicken broth from the chicken soup pot and set this aside.
- Pour the cooked verde sauce into the chicken soup pot. Add 3 cups hominy (save 1 cup for the blender) and gently simmer over medium heat.
- To the blender with chicken stock add the cilantro and their tender stems, cover tightly with a lid and kitchen towel, and blend until very smooth. Add the remaining 1 cup of hominy. Blend until creamy and smooth. If you need more liquid, just ladle from the soup pot to get the blender going. Pour this into the soup, pretty close to serving time (to keep it vibrant green!).
- Taste the soup. Season with salt, pepper and cook on warm just until heated through -do not boil, or you will lose the lovely color. *If soup lacks depth, add more salt and or a couple of chicken bouillon cubes ( or a couple teaspoons of chicken boullion paste or even a splash of soy sauce). TIP: The goal here is to get enough depth in the soup to balance out the tartness from the tomatillos and heat from the chilies.
- Serve the Posole in bowls, along with sour cream and any or all of the sides, letting people add whatever toppings they want.
Notes
To make this VEGAN: Sub flavorful veggie broth for the chicken broth. Sub 3 cans black beans or pinto beans for the chicken. You could add other veggies here- sauteed bell pepper or zucchini. The challenge will be getting the broth flavorful enough to hold up to the heat.
If your soup lacks depth, add a couple of extra boullion cubes or teaspoons of this chicken or veggie broth boullion paste. It will help a lot!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ½ cups
- Calories: 291
- Sugar: 5.6 g
- Sodium: 837.3 mg
- Fat: 7.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 27.6 g
- Fiber: 4.3 g
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 73.7 mg