Chicken Posole with Avocado and Lime

Carrie Zinnecker Main Dishes, Soup and Stew chicken, hominy, New Mexican, posole, soup 0 Comments

This is a yummy, comforting and spicy soup that is similar to chicken tortilla soup, but with more substance and kick.  The hominy provides the substance, and the roasted poblanos give a smoky, spiciness that increases as it sits.  So be prepared for a spicier soup if you have any leftovers that you eat the next day.  The avocado and sour cream contrast the spice nicely.

This is not “traditional” New Mexican posole/pozole, which is usually made with pork.  So, I guess this is kind of a cheater, short cut recipe, but it is delicious, quick and easy.  We ate this with a green salad and cornbread.  Corn tortillas would also be great with this soup.

The recipe came from Sunset magazine, and we made a few changes.  Some of the methods for putting the soup together didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, and seemed to be a bit tedious.  I am sure that if you followed the directions step-by-step from the magazine you would end up with a great pot of soup.

Chicken Posole with Avocado and Lime

(Adapted from Sunset Magazine)

• 3 large poblano chiles
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 large onion
• 2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) white hominy
• 1 ½  pounds boned, skinned chicken thighs
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ½  teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons ground red New Mexico chiles
• Garnishes: sliced avocado, lime wedges, cilantro sprigs, and sour cream

1. Preheat broiler. When hot, broil poblanos on a baking sheet until blackened, turning as needed, about 15 minutes.
2. Finely chop garlic and onion. Drain hominy; set aside.
3. Boil chicken in water with salt and pepper for 15-20 minutes.  Remove chicken, let cool, then shred.
4. Heat oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat. Add onion mixture and oregano to pan and sauté until onion is softened, 3 minutes. Add ground chiles to pan and cook, stirring, about 30 seconds.
5. Add broth, hominy, and chicken to pan. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer to blend flavors, 10 minutes.
6. Remove stems, skins, and seeds from poblanos and discard; chop poblanos.
7. Stir poblanos into posole and cook 1 minute. Ladle into bowls; top with garnishes.