POZOLE ROJO INGREDIENTS RECIPES

Steps:

• Bring a small pot of water to a boil, while we wait for that we can deseed and devein the chiles. You can use scissors to cut open the chilies to remove the hard stems, seeds and veins. Once the water has boiled, place the deseeded chiles, the onion and garlic into the pot. Allow to simmer under low heat until the chiles have rehydrated and the onion and garlic have softened.
• Once softened, carefully place boiled ingredients into the blender, then add about half a cup of the boiling broth, or plain water. Blend until you have a smooth, thickish sauce — if needed add more of the boiling broth to help achieve the smooth consistency. Strain the sauce now or do so in the next step. Set aside.
• In a large soup pot, and over medium heat, drizzle in 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, then add the mushrooms and sauté for about 8 minutes or until soft. Next, place a colander over the pot and carefully strain the chile sauce into it. Then add 1 teaspoon of coarse sea salt and stir, then add 1 teaspoon of Mexican oregano and stir. Next we add the hominy and mix until well combined. Lastly pour in the vegetable broth and bay leaves, stir until well combined.
• Turn the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and simmer for about 30 to 45 minutes or until the hominy is very tender. After about 30 minutes, taste the pozole to see if it can use more salt or a little more oregano — but don’t overdo it on the oregano because if there’s too much, it can turn the pozole sour.
• While we wait for the pozole to cook, we can prepare the toppings. Slice and chop the toppings you'd like to include.
• Once the pozole is ready, allow to cool slightly before serving. Top with any or all of the mentioned topping choice, or you can let everyone choose how they’d like to eat their pozole. Enjoy!

Steps:

• Break the stems off the chiles de arbol and ancho chiles and shake out as many seeds as possible. Put the chiles in a bowl and cover with boiling water; weigh down the chiles with a plate to keep them submerged and soak until soft, about 30 minutes. Transfer the chiles and 1 1/2 cups of the soaking liquid to a blender. Add the smashed garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt and blend until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pushing the sauce through with a rubber spatula; discard the solids. Rub the pork all over with the cumin and 1/2 teaspoon salt; set aside. Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook 2 minutes. Increase the heat to medium high. Push the onion and garlic to one side of the pot; add the pork to the other side and sear, turning, until lightly browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 cups water, the chicken broth, oregano, bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of the chile sauce (depending on your taste). Bring to a low boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Partially cover and cook, turning the pork a few times, until tender, about 3 hours. Stir in the hominy and continue to simmer, uncovered, until the pork starts falling apart, about 1 more hour. Remove the bay leaf. Transfer the pork to a cutting board; roughly chop and return to the pot. Add some water or broth if the posole is too thick. Season with salt. Serve with assorted toppings and the remaining chile sauce. Photograph by Con Poulos