Pork Posole (sort of)

Posole is a traditional soup or stew from Latin America. It's usually associated with mexico, especially as a holiday meal, but the basic recipe predates Europeans in this hemisphere. Real Posole, the type Crystal and Mara's grandmothers probably made, is slow cooked and take hours to complete...delicious and special. I can envision Crystal and Mara giving me a lecture on why this cheat recipe really isn't posole, but hey, it's fast and tasty, and uses many of the same ingredients. I like to make a big batch on a sunday night and take leftovers for lunch during the week. This freezes pretty well, too, if you would like to keep a few pre-portioned lunches or dinners stored away for when there isn't time to cook at all.

Pork Posole (sort of)
Time: 1 hour (but half of that is "stewing" and you can go do something else)
servings: 4-6

olive oil (about one tablespoon)
1 medium-sized onion
2 celery stalks
2-3 medium carrots, peeled
4 garlic cloves
1 pound pork tenderloin (pork sirloin probably works, too, and is less expensive)
5 cups chicken broth
2 cans of hominy, 15oz each, drained (the name sounds weird, but it's just specially prepared corn; gold or white, your choice...sometimes I use both *gasp*)
2 cans diced green chiles, 7oz each (pick your hotness level)
4 teaspoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (if you like cilantro, don't skip this, adds a lot of flavor)
salt (to taste, but you probably won't need any unless you get very low sodium broth)

Make sure your pot is at least 5 quarts. Chop the onion, celery, and carrots. You should aim for small pieces, about 1/4 inch cubes. Chop the garlic even smaller. (I'll write some tips for quickly dispatching onions later). Heat oil in the pot using medium-high heat and add all the ingredients you just chopped (It's totally ok to add the stuff to the pot as you chop and add oil and heat after. Just remember that it will take a few minutes extra cooking time, though it will also save some dish-washing. Cook the veggies until softened, about 6 or 7 minutes, stirring intermittently. While they cook, cut up the pork into 1/2 inch cubes. When the veggies are soft, add the pork to the pot, stir every once in a while, and cook until pork is no longer pink on the outside. Add the broth, hominy, chiles, cumin, and chili powder. Let this come to a boil and then lower the heat to something between medium and low. Simmer for at least a half-hour. You can go longer if you want, it can only get better and you can do other stuff while it cooks. Just before serving, add the cilantro and stir until wilted.



Sometimes I like to serve this with or over rice to give it a bit more substance.