Mexican Chicken Pozole Verde

Chicken pozole is a hearty Mexican stew made with chicken (duh) and hominy. Hominy is dried white or yellow corn kernels from which the hull and germ have been removed. This process is done either mechanically or chemically by soaking the corn in slaked lime or lye. Hominy is sold canned, ready-to-eat or dried (which must be reconstituted before using). I've seen lots of recipes for making your own (involving lots of lye and a caustic process) it looks complicated so we buy it canned when we're across the border. Perhaps you can find it here in Canada . . . we've yet to find it.

There are many variations on pozole, a traditional hominy-based Mexican stew closely associated with the Pacific-coast state of Guerrero. Anya von Bremzen's, version, a green pozole, derives much of its flavor from tangy ingredients like tomatillos, cilantro and green chiles. I foudn this recipe on the Food and Wine site and printed it off - almost thee years later, as a aprt of my desire to work through all of those flipping things I keep printing off, I finally got around to making it!!!

It's a shame that I waited so long because this was very good. We loved the warm spice and the wonderful citrus hints from the tomatillos and cilantro. I could eat food like this every day. Very flavorful, hearty and healthy.

Mexican Chicken Pozole Verde

7 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
2 cups water
4 chicken breast halves on the bone, with skin
1 pound tomatillos, husked and halved
1 small onion, quartered
2 poblano chiles—cored, seeded and quartered
2 jalapeños, seeded and quartered
4 large garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon oregano leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Three 15-ounce cans of hominy, drained
Finely shredded iceberg lettuce, sliced radishes, chopped onion, diced avocado, sour cream, tortilla chips and lime wedges, for serving

In a large, enameled cast-iron casserole, bring the chicken stock and water to a boil. Add the chicken breasts, skin side down, cover and simmer over very low heat until they're tender and cooked through, about 25 minutes. Transfer the chicken breasts to a plate and shred the meat; discard the bones and skin. Skim any fat from the cooking liquid and reserve.

In a blender, combine the halved tomatillos with the quartered onion, poblanos and jalapeños, smashed garlic, chopped cilantro and oregano. Pulse until coarsely chopped, scraping down the side. With the machine on, add 1 cup of the cooking liquid and puree until smooth. Season the tomatillo puree with salt and pepper.

In a large deep skillet, heat the vegetable oil until shimmering. Add the tomatillo puree and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce turns a deep green, about 12 minutes.

Pour the green sauce into the cooking liquid in the casserole. Add the hominy and bring to a simmer over moderate heat. Add the shredded chicken to the stew, season with salt and pepper and cook just until heated through. Serve the pozole in deep bowls, passing the lettuce, radishes, onion, avocado, sour cream, tortilla chips and lime wedges at the table.

Comments

[Kayte]

Sounds interesting and delicious...and you are right, it also sounds healthy, always a good thing. Plus, it's very pretty. I will need to try this...it is my experience that the further south you go in the US, the easier it is to find hominy at the corner market. I have only used it once and it was good. That lye business always scared me away from it for some reason...just sounds caustic, and that didn't sound appetizing to me at all. I will mark this one to try.

[bellini]

I have yet to find hominy or any other common ingredients for mexican cooking here but as soon as i cross into Washington State I have hit the jackpot!!

[Cindy Ruth]

This recipe sounds really good. I was suprised to see it because the other night I made posole also. But I made a version using shrimp instead of chicken or pork. I'm so bad though, I didn't take photos or keep track of quantities as I threw together the items. I think I'll have to make it again and then post it.

[JDeQ]

I know what you mean about the lye Kayte - sometimes it's better to not delve too deeply into what you're eating. :-)

I wonder how long it will be until ingredients for Mexicana nd Central American foods are readily available here belini? It is not as if we're on another continent or somehting! ARGH

great minds think alike Cindy!