Pozole - Muy sabrozo

Felicita's Posole

Recipe courtesy Michael Chiarello

Ingredients:

•2 heads garlic

•Extra-virgin olive oil

•3 whole ancho chiles, seeded and stemmed
•4 pounds pork shoulder blade roast, cut into 2-inch cubes
•2 pounds pork back ribs, cut into 2-rib portions
•Gray salt
•Freshly ground black pepper
•4 quarts posole or canned white hominy, drained
•1/2 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

Garnishes:
•2 onions, peeled and chopped
•2 avocados, cut into chunks
•2 lemons, cut into wedges
•2 bunches radishes, washed and quartered
•1 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
•Dried Mexican oregano
•Tortilla chips or tostadas

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Put the garlic onto a piece of aluminum foil and drizzle with a little olive oil. Close up the foil and roast until the garlic is soft, about 45 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat a thin film of oil over moderate heat. Add the chiles and brown on all sides. Remove the chiles and set the skillet aside.

Generously season the meat with salt and pepper. Reheat the same skillet over medium heat and cook the meat until well browned on all sides, about 15 minutes. Do this in batches to avoid crowding the pan, adding additional oil as needed. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and set aside. Pour off the excess fat from the pan. Deglaze the pan with about 1/2 cup water, scraping the browned bits off the bottom.

In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a simmer and add the liquid from the skillet. Add the garlic, chiles, posole, oregano, and pepper to taste. Simmer 1 hour.
Add the browned meat. Simmer gently, partially covered, about 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender.

Taste and adjust the seasoning.   Serve the posole in soup bowls with the garnishes in individual bowls on the side.

Partakers:  Don and I

There's nothing that warms my heart more on a cold winter day like a savory soup or stew especially when it takes me "back home" like Pozole (Hominy Stew). The Ancho chiles mixed with the Roasted Garlic and browned Pork meat are a perfect combination of flavors that every spoonful is a delectable fill for my palate and my tummy. My hubby wasn't to nuts about it but then he's still trying to get used to my Mexican flavored stews and something tells me he'll eventually take a liking to them.  This is my first time cooking with Ancho chiles and I was very nervous in putting the whole piece of chile in the stew.  I usually have to grind them in the blender and then strain them.  I was nervous that I was going to be spittin' the skins out of my mouth with each spoonful but that wasn't the case and it turned out alot better than I thought.  Thanks to Mrs. Maria Roman, I learned to make Pozole.  She made it for me when she came to my house one time and I just fell in love with it.  Pozole is very similar to Menudo, it has the same exact base stock only Menudo contains Beef Tripe and Pozole has Pork meat. I love roasting garlic heads.  They carmelize after roasting and are so slippery when they come out of the oven that I like squeezing them out of their pods.  They slide out so easily and smell sooooo good.  I didn't make or have any of the garnishes that the recipe asked for.  If anything, I would have the tortilla chips and be happy with that but today, we had slices of a Sesame seed bread I bought from Panera yesterday and they went perfect together.  So, since Don wasn't too nuts about my Pozole, looks like I'll have plenty of leftovers and will be taking some to work this next week.  Leftovers always taste better any ways the 2nd . . . . 3rd. . . . 4th time around.  ~isavortheweekend