Posole is a New Mexican soup, usually served during the holidays. The traditional dish dates before Spanish contact, specifically coming from Anasazi celebration of the fruits of the earth. The soup features New Mexican harvests of corn, chile, and meat (if that’s your thing). Southern New Mexican posole features red chile and Northern New Mexican posole uses green chile. Not only is this soup amazing because it is so comforting, it is also really simple, versatile, and easy. If you don’t have access to any chile and are in Seattle, drop me an email. I have a cherished stash I am willing to share with those who are missing home or for the curious. If you are from Seattle and think you have tasted true chiles because you bought a can of “chile” from the store, you are mistaken. Let me fix that for you.
Ingredients:
1 lb hominy (or posole) kernels
4-6 dried red chile peppers
1/2 tablespoon oregano
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon salt
Optional: 2 lbs cubed pork or beef
1 teaspoon red chile powder
Directions:
1. Hominy is hard field corn, so the first step is to soak the corn in lightly salted water the night before. There is no specific amount of water – just make sure that it more than covers the kernels, because they will absorb some of the water and you don’t want them to dry out. (* If you are using canned hominy, skip this step.)
2. Transfer the hominy into a large pot with the lightly salted water it soaked in. Add a bit more water, and boil the hominy for an additional 2 or 3 hours.
3. Add the minced garlic, dried red chile peppers, and oregano to the boiling hominey. If you are using meat, add it at this point. If your water is low, you will want to add more at this point. Cover and boil for an additional hour. I also add a little bit of red chile powder because I love the heat, and some cloves for an additional spiciness. Experiment with what you like.
4. To serve, pull the red chile peppers out of the pot and laddle the posole into a bowl. I recommend serving the posole with warmed corn tortillas and a squirt of lime juice. Word on the street is that cerveza (beer) is good with posole, but I don’t drink. Try it if you do.
Violá! Enjoy. I told you it was easy.
Proud
This video makes me inordinately proud*:
Totally unrelated note, and not intended to harsh anyone’s mellow, but who is visiting me from [redacted]? Whoever you are – I don’t know what you are looking for, but multiple visits on several pages a day probably won’t unearth it. Shoot me an email if you have something to ask.
*Inordinately proud because I’m not from Seattle, I’m not a rapper, and I don’t remember a Sir-Mix-A-Lot video being shot. But, the video is gorgeous, I do love Seattle, and I love the hip-hop coming from this town. I even made a little doc about it a few quarters ago.