Meatless Mondays: Green Pozole

Most of my childhood memories are associated with food. In the summer my mom would make gooey grilled cheese sandwiches and icy milkshakes to eat after going for swims, or after playing at the park. In the winter, she would sometimes make pozole, a one-bowl meal that will warm you up on a chilly day.

I very distinctly remember calling (what I now know to be) hominy, "butterflies." If you look, hominy kind of looks like the wings of a butterfly. This version of green pozole is light, quick, and easy to make. If you don't have pepitas, feel free to omit them, but then come back to this recipe when you do have them because they add a little texture to the broth, and a lot of depth to the flavor. You can make this with chicken stock or beef stock, but this one is all vegetable stock, perfect for this week's Meatless Monday.

Vegetarian Green Pozole

serves 6


Ingredients

6 tomatillos, husked and washed
1/2 cup pepitas, toasted
1/2 white onion, roughly chopped
2 sprigs cilantro
1 jalapeno, seeded and stemmed
2 qt vegetable stock (can also be made with chicken or beef stock)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 29oz can Hominy, drained and rinsed
salt
pepper

For garnish
julienned radish
chopped cilantro
corn chips ( I cut a few tortillas into strips, and fry them in vegetable oil for about a minute. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle salt on top)
salsa


Instructions

1. toast pepitas in a dry skillet, stirring occasionally, until the seeds start to turn golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer seeds to a large bowl.
2. Meanwhile, In a medium saucepan, cover tomatillos with salted water and over medium-high heat cook for 10 minutes. Drain, add tomatillos to pepitas, along with the onion, cilantro, jalapeno, and 1 cup vegetable stock.
3. Scoop half of the mixture into a blender, and puree until smooth, strain puree through a sieve. Repeat pureeing and straining with remaining mixture.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large heavy bottomed skillet. Fry the sauce for about five minutes, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens and it has turned a dark green/light brown color.
5. Transfer sauce to a large, heavy bottomed sauce pan or dutch oven, add remaining vegetable stock and hominy. Cook uncovered over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes, then cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes, continue to stir every few minutes. Taste for seasoning, (I add 1 tablespoon of salt, and 1/2 tablespoon pepper; but it will depend on what type of stock you are using and how much salt it already contains.) Take off the heat, serve and top with garnish.

photo by me