Turn your January Blues to Greens, Whites and Reds.
Pozole Rojo - Meat or Vegetarian versions are available.
I’d like to welcome along anyone who has found this site following the recipe published in the In & Around magazine this January. What a lovely start to my year to have been invited to submit a recipe. Below you will find that this post expands on the theme to discuss the more traditional elements and how to make your own chilli sauce.
In January I am still craving foods that can warm me up, but after the indulgencies of December I feel in need of some fresh light flavours and a little something fun.
Pozole is a hearty Mexican soup served with a fresh salsa to zing the taste buds. There is a little preparation that goes into it but well worth the effort. You can easily prepare the soup in advance to serve with the salsa when you return from your winter walk.
In Mexico Pozole is often served at festive events and dates back to pre-Hispanic México, where it is reported that human sacrifices were made to the gods and the left overs were used to make a stew.
If I have not already put you off I can assure you my recipe calls for pork shoulder, and not that of your next door neighbour - but you could try swapping this out for Chicken, Turkey, Jackfruit or Sweet Potato.
This is a great way to use up some of your left over Christmas turkey! See my advice on variations below or if you have any other ideas please add to the comments, I’d love to try your ideas.
The chilli’s in this recipe are now widely available in most stores but you can also buy dried online which if you cook a lot of Mexican dish’s you might find more economical. Although I prefer the more authentic chilli paste, if you don’t have the time for this I have managed to source a really good alternative which is 100g of Waitrose - Cooks' Ingredients Smoky 3 Chilli Paste
The base of the soup traditionally comes from an ingredient call Hominy, which is made from maize corn, dried and treated by cooking in a diluted lye solution. The method of treatment is fundamental to the processing of the corn as it breaks down niacin in the untreated corn so that it can be ingested. The corn is used in many staple ingredients of Latin American and Caribbean cuisine. Processed Hominy is easy enough to source online, but if you are stuck trying to get hold of any you can substitute this for chickpeas or black beans. I won’t tell anyone.
The salsa toppings include some recognisable Mexican ingredients such as avocado, coriander & lime, but I like to include other seasonal vegetables such as cabbage and radish. The green, white & red ingredients reflecting the colours of the Mexican flag. Don’t try and skimp on this, it’s is a vital part of the meal, without it would be like taco’s with just the meat.
Pozole Rojo
Serves 4
1 hour prep, 2 hours cooking
Ingredients
5 dried chillies - A combination of the following, depending on your love of heat. Typically I would go for 2-2-1.
Guajillo - This chilli is essential for bringing the depth of colour and sweetness to the Pozole. Medium heat.
Ancho - A dried poblano chilli, mild with sweet & smoky flavour.
Chile de árbol - This one will add spice to your broth, but is light in flavour so will not over power the other two.
3-5 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed, + 2 for the chilli paste
500ml water
500ml chicken or vegetable stock
1 large white onion, diced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp olive oil, extra for the chilli paste
500g pork shoulder, cubed into chunky bite size pieces
400g can of hominy
1 tbsp oregano
Salsa Salad
These are some suggestions and the quantities are a guideline too, but ensure you have included the basic zesty flavours like lime and coriander.
1/2 head of white or savoy cabbage, shredded
5 radish, thinly sliced
1 lime, quartered
1 red onion, thinly sliced, ideally pickled in cider vinegar (see below)
4 tomato’s, diced, seeds removed
1/4 cucumber, diced
1/2 avocado, sliced
100g feta cheese, crumbled
Handful of coriander, chopped
Fresh chillies, chopped
Tortilla chips
Sour Cream
Method
If your making your own chilli paste, heat a frying pan to a medium high and toast the chillies for a couple minutes, until they begin to soften, keeping an eye on them to ensure they do not burn. Boil some water and let the chillies and two of the peeled garlic cloves soak in it for about 10-15 minutes. Drain the chillies, but keep approximately 100ml of the soaking liquid, remove the stems and most of the seeds. Place chillies in a blender with the liquid and a dash of olive oil and blend to a paste.
Measure 500ml of water & the stock into a large pan suitable for the oven, a cast iron pot would work well, add the onion, garlic & bay leaves then bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer ready for the meat.
Toast the cumin seeds in a hot frying pan until they start to release their aroma and then add to the stock.
Heat the oven to 120°C (250°F).
Season the pork with salt and pepper.
In the frying pan heat the olive oil on a medium heat and brown the pork.
Transfer the meat to the stock. Use some of the broth to release any meat stuck to the frying pan and add this to the pan also.
Add in the hominy, cumin and oregano. Then add in the chilli sauce and 1 tsp of salt. Make sure you rinse out the blender or jar of chilli paste with some of the stock, you want to get all the goodness in to the broth.
Return the pot to a simmer and cover with a lid before transferring to the oven. I cook mine for about 2 hours. If this is the first time you have slow cooked in your oven then you might want to check after the first hour that there is enough liquid and if not please add some more water or stock, but ideally not lifting the lid at all during the cooking time will bring best results.
While the pork is cooking you can prepare the salsa ingredients. Present these in individual dishes so the diners can help themselves to their toppings.
After 2 hours the pork will be completely tender, but there will be plenty of broth remaining - this is a soup after all. You can further reduce the stock on the stove top if you wish.
Serve in large soup bowls, I use ramen bowls as they have a very wide surface area to sprinkle on the salsa salad and I also like to put a big dollop of sour cream on top.
Tips for variations to the recipe.
If you are using raw chicken I would reduce the water by about a third (350ml), keep the same volume of stock, cook in the oven for just one hour.
Cooked, shredded chicken, turkey, jackfruit. Reduce the water by about a third (350ml), keep the same volume of stock. Add the ‘meat’ to the pan after the first half hour in the oven and then cook for a further half hour.
Sweet potato. Brown the potato in the same way as you do with the pork to get some caramelisation. Reduce the water by about a third (350ml), keep the same volume of stock, cook in the oven for just one hour. Sweet potato works really well with black beans.
If cooking an a slow oven, you will have to make adjustments to the volume of liquid, I can’t advise on this as ovens vary so much, but remember this is a soup not a stew.
Red onion pickle.
1 large red onion thinly sliced.
Place the onion in a colander and pour boiling water over the onion. Drain well and put into a large jug or bowl.
In a small pan combine 100ml cider vinegar, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp caster sugar, 1 tsp salt, bring to a low heat and simmer to dissolve the sugar and salt. Pour over the onions. Set aside for 2 hours, tossing occasionally.
These will keep for 2 weeks but the onions will soften over time so best eaten within a few days.
