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Chicken & Vegetable Pozole

March 15, 2012 by Natalie

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Traditionally, pozole (or posole) is a Mexican soup made with hominy (which is what ‘pozole’ means actually), a reddish chile-tomato base broth, and a protein, usually pork.  So in many ways, this is nothing like traditional pozole soup, but, this rendition stemmed from a more traditional pozole years ago.

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What once began as a more authentic pozole quickly twisted into something resembling a chicken and vegetable soup.  Over the years, I began adding in more chopped veggies, which makes this more of a chicken soup with hominy, than it does a pozole.  But labels aside, I love it and am still making it this way today!  

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To me, this soup is made by the garnishes.  Any time I can top food with other food, I am happy.  The garnishes for this guy are a buffet on their own!  I add cabbage, radishes, cilantro, cheese, avocado, lime, and the list goes on.  That’s the fun of this one… you can add in whatever you want to make those toppings exciting.  Nearly anything goes!  Add crunch, add creaminess, add zing, add it all. 🙂

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Hominy, which is dried maize that has been soaked in a lime solution, resembles a garbanzo bean more than it does corn.  But, alas, it is corn.  The texture is also beany in nature, but the flavor is not.  It’s unique.  I always think of giant corn nuts when I see it. 🙂

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If you’re smack dab in tomato season, feel free to use your fresh tomatoes for this soup.  If it’s not tomato season though, a jar or can of diced tomatoes will do the trick just fine.

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INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp olive oil

5-6 dried arbol chiles

2 cups chopped yellow onion

1 cup chopped poblano pepper 

1 1/2 cups chopped carrot

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper 

1 cup chopped celery

1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, seeds removed from one half (approx 1 tbsp)

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups chopped tomatoes (or one 15 oz can diced)

3 cups hominy (or one 25 oz can)

3-4 chicken breasts (see note below)

1 quart chicken broth

1 tsp oregano (preferably Mexican)

2 bay leaves

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 ancho chili powder

salt and pepper, to taste

1 lime- 1/2 juiced, 1/2 cut into wedges

for garnish: lime, cabbage, cheese (Cotija for a dry, or Monterey jack for a melted), avocado, sour cream or crema, cilantro, scallions, radishes, and tortilla sticks (optional- see recipe below)

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DIRECTIONS

Prep the veggies…

For the serrano chile, the seeds and white lining carry the heat

If you’d like it spicy, don’t remove them- if you don’t want it spicy, do

I usually remove them from one half and leave them in the other 🙂

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Chop all veggies

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Add the olive oil, arbol chiles, onion, carrot, celery, red pepper,

poblano pepper, serrano, garlic, and salt to a large pot over medium heat

Stir and let cook for approx 10 minutes

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 While that’s going, prep the remaining ingredients…

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Add all of the remaining ingredients to the pot, except the garnishes, of course

(Tomatoes, hominy, all spices and herbs, chicken broth, and chicken) 

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Give it a good stir, then cover, turn to low, and simmer for approx 45 minutes

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Remove chicken from soup, let cool, then chop or shred into little bits

Remove the bay leaves and dried chiles… or just leave them in and let people eat around them 😉

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Add the chicken back to the pot

Squeeze lime juice in there, adding in more as you wish

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Taste and adjust flavors, adding in more salt, pepper, lime, spice etc. as needed

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To make tortilla strips…

Slice corn (or flour) tortillas into long thin strips

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Heat some oil in a pan, add in a few dried chiles if you’d like

(totally optional- adds a little chile infusion to the oil), and let them

cook for a few minutes over medium-high heat

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Flip, then repeat until lightly golden brown and crispy

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Lay strips on a paper towel to cool- immediately sprinkle with a little salt

(You want to salt while the oil’s still wet… so it sticks!)

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Get all the other garnishes you want ready…

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Ladle the soup up…

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Top with all the goodies you want, serve with a lime wedge, and dig in!

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[yumprint-recipe id=’3′]

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Filed Under: Comfort Food, Fall & Winter, Gluten Free, Latin Flavors, Recipes + More, Soups & Stews Tagged With: chicken, Gluten-free, Poultry, Soups & Stews

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Comments

  1. noreply@blogger.com'kellb

    March 17, 2012 at 3:19 am

    Ok… I’m thinking you should go to culinary school. Screw teaching! This looks amazing. Can’t wait to try the mini lasagnas. Nice work 🙂

    • noreply@blogger.com'Natalie

      March 19, 2012 at 1:25 am

      Haha… thanks!! It’s been fun so far.. figure I’m making the food anyways, might as well post it!

  2. alexandrakm@yahoo.com'alexnadra

    December 30, 2017 at 8:38 am

    love this recipe. have made it several times and each time my guest and family absolutely love it. tasty, pretty, healthy and easy to make thanks to your simple directions. yum!!!

    • Natalie

      January 4, 2018 at 9:52 am

      Aw, thanks you!! <3

  3. alexandrakm@yahoo.com'Alexandra Karacostas

    October 10, 2020 at 2:28 am

    this is a sure always killer recipe. Simply yum and simple to make. Thank you, Natalie!!!

    • Natalie

      October 10, 2020 at 3:33 pm

      YAY!

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