Kitchen
Pozole (sometimes spelled posole) is a rich, brothy soup from Central Mexico. While it can be made with a variety of ingredients, hominy (a type of maize) is always a key component. Pozole is garnished with lots of fresh vegetables, like cabbage, radishes, onion, and avocado. The dried guajillo chilies in this vegan pozole rojo give it a deep red color and great flavor.
Pozole Rojo
Ingredients
- 5-6 dried guajillo peppers
- 5 cups vegetable broth, divided
- 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium white onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 29-ounce can hominy, drained and rinsed
- Salt
Garnish
- 2 cups shredded green cabbage
- One bunch cilantro, chopped
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 2 limes, quartered
- A bunch of radishes, thinly sliced (or pickled radishes)
- 1 jalapeno, diced
- Corn tortillas
Preparation
- Coat a baking dish with cooking spray and arrange tortillas on the sheet. Bake in an oven at 350 degrees until crisp, about 30 minutes. Prepare other ingredients while the tortillas bake.
- Discard the stems and seeds from the dried peppers. Roast in a large pot over medium heat until they begin to soften, about three minutes. Add two cups of vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and continue soaking for 10 minutes.
- Puree the chilies in a blender with the soaking liquid 2 1/2 cups or so of their soaking liquid, a pinch of salt, and of garlic. Blend until smooth and set aside.
- Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Saute onion until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add ground cumin and continue cooking for another minute.
- Add oregano, bay leaf, and remaining broth. Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce heat to a simmer.
- Strain pureed peppers through a sieve and pour into the soup. Add hominy and return to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes and season with salt to taste.
- Serve the pozole with prepared garnishes and crisped tortillas.
