Since we’re heading into August soon, our garden has been blooming with veggie delights. Yesterday, my husband and Coraline went out back to our raised bed and picked some delicious green tomatoes as well as some serrano peppers. The beautiful green bounty, coupled with the fact I had a bowl of tomatillos in the kitchen, got me to thinking about making a delicious verde sauce. That thought then led me into trying a go at a pozole! That’s how my foodie brain works.
There are many variations on pozole, a traditional hominy-based Mexican stew associated with the Pacific-coast state of Guerrero. The version I’m making today is a green pozole which derives much of its flavor from tangy ingredients like tomatillos, cilantro and green chiles. Coraline and I took garlic, an onion, a couple serrano peppers, some tomatillos and green tomatoes and threw them in a baking dish. I then tossed them in oil and salt and cooked them down until they were nice and charred.
Coraline wanted to take some time and stop and smell the limes.
After the veggies were nice and charred I transfered them into my dutch oven with one bunch of cilantro. Sadly, my cilantro did not make it this year in the garden. I’m not sure what happened but luckily the market is only a couple blocks away.
I then added – I know this is weird – but 1/2 cup of margarita mix to the pozole base. It added such a nice hint of sweetness with a much needed acidic bite.
Once I added the margarita mix to the charred vegetables and cilantro, I also added a heaping tablespoon of chicken base for much needed saltiness and a cup of water to the party. I then whipped out my handy dandy hand immersion blender and mixed it until it to a slightly chunky consistency.
Time for the only canned ingredients in the pozole – hominy and diced green chilis. I threw these in the pot and all the meat from one rotisserie chicken. Sheesh, I’ve been realizing how much I love the convenience of a rotisserie chicken for soups and pretty much everything else.
Coraline had fun munching on some chips while I prepped my meal.
The Pozole turned out freaking amazing. So much flavor and with a squeeze of lime and some salty chips and buttered tortillas, I was in heaven.
Chicken Pozole Verde Ingredients:
- 4 tomatillos
- 4 green tomatoes
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 1 large yellow onion
- 2 Serrano peppers
- 1 tablespoon of oil
- salt to taste
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 1/2 cup margarita mix
- 1 heaping tablespoon of chicken base
- 1 cup of water
- 1 rotisserie chicken, meat shredded and removed from bones
- 1 can hominy
- 1 can diced green chilis
Directions:
- Heat oven to 425
- Place green tomatoes, tomatillos, garlic, onion, Serrano peppers, oil and salt on sheet pan and roast in the oven until charred, around 20-25 minutes, turning as needed.
- Transfer charred veggies to Dutch oven or large pot. Add cilantro bunch, margarita mix, chicken base and water. Blend well with immersion blender.
- Add hominy, green chilis and meat from rotisserie chicken.
- Cook on low until flavors develop and hominy softens. I left mine going for a couple hours.
Serve with limes, cilantro, tortillas, radishes, chips and an icy cold margarita!
