Chicken Pozole Soup

It’s soup time! And T.W.O. is featuring the sister soup of the well-known Chicken Tortilla…..Chicken Pozole! Not very many people have had or even know about pozole soup, so T.W.O. wants to share this delicious recipe with you! The staple ingredient of the soup is hominy, which are dried maize kernels. Hominy almost tastes like tiny corn tortilla balls- yum! There are different variations of the soup- pozole verde, pozole rojo, chicken, beef, vegetarian- the list goes on! But, the most important part is what you put on top-avocado, salsa, radishes, cabbage, sour cream, cheese, hot sauce, etc. The soup is definitely a crowd pleaser and makes for a great dish to serve for many people like…. Super Bowl! Touchdown!

Ingredients

-7 cups of chicken stock, low-sodium
-2 cups water
-4 chicken breasts
-1 lb Tomatillos, husked and halved
-1 Small onion, quartered
-2 Poblano chilies, cored, seeded and quartered
-2 Jalapenos, seeded and quartered
-4 Large garlic cloves, smashed
-1/2 cup chopped cilantro
-1 Tablespoon oregano leaves
-Salt and freshly ground black pepper
-1 Tablespoon olive oil
-3 15-oz cans of hominy, drained
– 1 lemon, juiced

Finely shredded lettuce or cabbage, sliced radishes, chopped onion, diced avocado, sour cream, hot sauce, cheese, tortilla chips, and lime wedges for serving. Set aside.

In a large pot, bring the chicken stock and water to a boil. Add the chicken breasts to the stock and season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce.

Cover and simmer over very low heat until the chicken is tender and cooked through- about 25 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and shred or dice the meat. Skim away any fat from the broth.

In a food processor, combine the tomatillos with the onion, poblanos, jalapenos, garlic, cilantro, lemon juice and oregano. Pulse until the mixture is all chopped, making sure to scrap down all the sides. Season the tomatillo puree with salt and pepper.

In a large deep skillet, heat up the olive oil. Add the tomatillo puree and cook over moderate heat, stirring often, until the sauce turns a deep green- about 10 minutes.

Pour the green sauce into the broth that is in the pot. Add the hominy and bring to a simmer over moderate heat.

Next add the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about another 20 minutes on low heat.

We also made our own tortilla strips. First cut the corn tortillas into long strips and place onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F for about 5-10 minutes or until brown.