Saturday Night Posole

Posole is a "South of the Border" soup that features hominy and pork as a main ingredients. Traditionally, it is made with pork, but you can use beef or chicken if you like. The version here is one that my kid and I made last night at about 9 o'clock after seeing Guy eat some on "Diner's Drive-In's and Dives." ( What six-year-old wants to make spicy soup at 9 pm?) It turned out great!

Ingredients:

1 lb shredded pork roast (about 3 cups or so)**

2- 15 oz cans hominy, drained and rinsed

2 -15 oz cans diced tomatoes

1 - small can green chilies

1 -medium onion

1- bell pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp chopped chipotle chili ( comes in a can with adobo sauce)

1- 15 oz can black beans, rinsed well

1 - 15 oz can chicken broth

1/2 tsp cumin

salt

black pepper

Chop the onion and bell pepper in to a chunky dice, then saute it with the minced garlic in a tablespoon or two of bacon grease ( you had to know that was coming) or other fat until tender.

Put all canned ingredients ( except for the chipotle )in a big pot and add the shredded pork, bell pepper and onion. Add the cumin, and about 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Now, the tricky part is to add the chipotle to taste.

Chipotle is just smoked jalapeno peppers and actually are not as "hot" to me as a fresh jalapeno. They have a very different flavor and I think add a lot to this soup. They are slimy when you take them out of the can, so be prepared. I take a couple out of the can and put them on the chopping board, then remove as many seeds as possible, then chop the rest. The best thing to do is to add a tsp at a time , letting it simmer a little in between until you get to the right "heat" for your taste. I found that a tablespoon was adequate for me, and my little gourmet ate it without complaint. You could leave them out if you like, and just add a few drops of liquid smoke ( assuming your pork wasn't smoked.)

Simmer for about 15-20 minutes, then serve hot after checking the need for more salt. It would be most authentic served with a chewy flatbread, but cornbread sticks would be great. Garnishes could include a little salsa, sour cream, shredded cheese or chopped cilantro. I just go with it plain, but I can sure see how it would be good with some pretty add-ons.

( I don't normally keep hominy on hand, but I had bought it to make Ree Drummond's hominy casserole and had not yet had occasion to make it. )

** Next post on how we stretched one pork roast to make three plus meals.