Pozolé (Pork and Vegetarian Versions)

My sister's nephew said I need to cook some yummy Mexican dishes, and he chose pozolé as his dish of choice. I've never made pozolé, so I'm not sure how authentic mine is, but my family sure loved it, and so did I. This is based loosely on a recipe I found at Food.com

Pork Pozolé

Step One:
2 pounds of pork roast
8 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
1 T cumin powder
1/2 large, sweet onion, peeled and chopped
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp dried Mexican oregano

Cover the pork with water in a pot. Toss in the onion, garlic, salt, pepper and seasoning. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.


Step Two:
3 dried Mexican Ancho chilies, stemmed and seeded
1 1/2 cups water
Salt
2 T chopped onion
2 whole garlic cloves, peeled

In a small saucepan, cover the chilies with water. Boil for 15 minutes. Blend in blender with raw onion and garlic until smooth. Strain to remove chunks. Put aside this chilli sauce to be used as a garnish (I added about 1/2 of it directly to the pozolé.



Step Three:
Olive oil
1/2 sweet onion, peeled and chopped
1 T chili powder
Salt, to taste
Fresh, chopped oregano
Fresh, chopped cilantro
4 cups canned white hominy, drained
Chicken broth (about 4 cups)
2 4oz cans diced green chilies (do not drain)

In the bottom of a large pot, sauté the onion in the oil until tender. Cut the cooked pork into chunks, reserving the broth left over. Pour the pork broth and chicken broth over the onions. Add pork chunks. Add the hominy, chili powder, salt, pepper and green chilies. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for 1 1/2 hours - 2 hours, until pork is tender. Add fresh oregano and cilantro and some of the chilli sauce, if desired.



Step four:
Pozolé is meant to be served with many garnishes. I fried up some tortilla strips and served fresh cilantro and oregano and lime juice on the side., It is often served with shredded cabbage, radishes, and lime wedges as well.

Fried Tortilla Strips


Vegetarian Pozolé
Found Here

5 cups white hominy, thawed if frozen, or well-rinsed if canned
14 cups good vegetable stock, preferably homemade
1-2 cups Hatch green chile
2-3 Tbsp New Mexico red chile powder
3-4 dried New Mexico red chile pods, shredded
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, whole
3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
1 Tbsp miso
1 tsp Mexican oregano
salt
grated Co-Jack cheese
whole-wheat tortillas

Put all the ingredients except the cheese and tortillas into a big pot and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until flavors are melded. Top each bowl with grated cheese and use tortillas to scoop it up.