Chicken Posole with Avocado and Lime
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
- Preheat broiler. When hot, broil poblanos on a baking sheet until blackened, turning as needed, about 15 minutes.
- Finely chop garlic and onion. Drain hominy; set aside.
- Boil chicken in water with salt and pepper for 15-20 minutes. Remove chicken, let cool, then shred.
- 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.
- Add broth, hominy, and chicken to pan. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer to blend flavors, 10 minutes.
- Remove stems, skins, and seeds from poblanos and discard; chop poblanos.
- Stir poblanos into posole and cook 1 minute. Ladle into bowls; top with garnishes.