Pozole

Start off by gutting all of the peppers. Take off the stems and get all of the seeds out. Then, throw them in a saucepan with water and boil until tender.

In your big soup pot, throw in the oil, the pork and some salt. Brown for a few minutes. Afterward, fill the pot with JUST ENOUGH water to cover the pork. Add in the onion and garlic and boil over medium heat.

Once the peppers are tender, reserve one cup of the water that you boiled them in , and put the rest of the water into the pot with the pork.

Throw the peppers with a splash of the reserved cup into a food processor until good and pulpy. Put the pulp in a wire strainer (you can use a coffee filter if you don’t have a wire strainer) and use the reserved liquid to help get out all of the flavor from the pulp. This can take a while. Remember, the more you work it out, the more flavorful the soup will be. Push it with a spoon, take some liquid from the soup pot, and just suck out as much as you can from that pulp.

Next, take your gigantic can of hominy and drain it. VERY SLOWLY add it to the soup pot. I always seem to make a mess at this stage.

Right about now there’s a good chance that your soup pot is filled to the rim. If not, add a bit more water. I usually let it simmer for at least an hour afterward. The longer it simmers, the more tender the pork and more concentrated the flavor.

Garnish with shredded cabbage, lime and GOOD tortilla chips (preferably NOT Tostitos and the like).

A bit laborious, but easily one of my family’s favorite dishes!