Thai-Style Chicken Soup

Chicken soup comforts both body and soul. So it is no surprise that many cultures around the world have their own version; unique with the varying preparations, ingredients and seasonings to account for the world of difference. In my kitchen you'll often find one of these chicken soup recipes simmering away on the stove:

Avgolemono - Greek Lemon Soup

Green Posole with Chicken

Coconut Green Curry Soup

plus an Indian-style Chicken Coconut Curry Soup, and our all-time favorite Mexican Chicken Taco Soup (I can't believe I haven't posted a recipe for this one yet). This month's interest in ginger nudged me toward a Thai-style version of chicken soup with coconut milk. This chicken soup was fast, flavorful and carried enough of a "zip" from the Tom Yum  sauce to keep RL smiling. 

My fridge and freezer usually hold a few containers of cooked chicken, left after roasting a whole bird, pulled from a purchased deli chicken or after I precook a batch of chicken thighs. Chicken soups and chicken enchiladas benefit from this versatile ready-to-use ingredient. 

What's your favorite use of already cooked chicken?  

Thai-Style Chicken Soup

yields 4 servings

2 fat cloves garlic, peeled & minced
2-inch piece ginger root, peeled & minced or shredded
2 TBS canola oil
1 TBS brown sugar
1 tsp Tom Yum sauce or a Thai curry paste (adjust for your level of spicy heat)
1 TBS Thai fish sauce 
1 TBS Gourmet Garden Thai seasoning paste (or 1 tsp each dried cilantro & basil)
1 small onion, peeled & chopped
1 cup red pepper, cored & chopped
1 fat carrot, peeled & sliced thin into rounds
2 ribs celery, strings discarded and stalks chopped
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 can (15-oz) low-sodium chicken broth 
1 can (15-oz) coconut milk (NOT coconut cream!)
2 to 3 heads baby bok choy, cleaned & chopped
salt and pepper to taste
lime wedges for serving

Use a wide-bladed knife or bench scraper to mash the garlic and ginger together into a paste. Heat the canola oil in a medium, heavy-bottomed pot and saute the ginger-garlic mash for a minute or two until aromatic. 

Stir in the brown sugar, Tom Yum sauce, fish sauce and Thai seasoning paste.

Add the chopped onions, red pepper, carrot & celery. Stir to coat and saute for another minute. Add the chicken and stir some more to coat.

Add the chicken broth and coconut milk and bring to a barely bubbling simmer. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Add the baby bok choy and cook for a minute or two until just tender. Ladle into bowls and enjoy at once.

Notes: 
1. Offer lime or lemon wedges to add a citrus pop to each bowl.
2. For hungry appetites, offer a small bowl of rice alongside. The solids are always finished first and the remaining soup liquid works well as a sauce for the rice.   

Minestrone, a Hearty Winter Warm Up

2017 Minestrone

My hunt for a seriously good minestrone recipe continues, both in casual dining restaurants and in my own kitchen at home. Some days inspiration comes from colorful Pinterest photos or intriguing cookbook recipes, or more often develops as a random, freeform exploration featuring seasonal produce in the fridge. This week's version, an adaptation of Ina Garten's Hearty Winter Minestrone, was declared a success. Not surprising since Ina's recipes rarely disappoint. You'll find her original recipe online here and in her 2012 cookbook Barefoot Contessa Foolproof.

I took some liberties with the ingredient list, added a few vegetables and omitted others, changed the pasta, used leftover prosecco rather than white wine... and it was still delicious. Adaptability is what makes minestrone such an amazing soup, but don't just take my word for it.

"If all were right in the world, there would be as many recipes for minestrone - the Italian soup of simmered vegetables and beans- as there have been individual pots of it cooked. That's because it's really more of a process than a fixed recipe." J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Read more of Kenji's lengthy but interesting Food Lab treatise on minestrone here for some history, basic technique, ingredient suggestions, and a kettleful of researched fact and opinion.

My previous minestrone soups varied widely in flavor and ingredients, some more successful than others, and have combined fresh, frozen and boxed or canned ingredients. Perhaps incorporating dried beans and their cooking liquid will boost the next  kettle of soup to the next level of layered flavors. For now, I'm happy to work with this recipe again. Thanks for the inspiration, Ina, and thanks, Kenji for the encouragement to stray from a written recipe.
   

2015 Minestrone

2013 Minestrone

2012 Minestrone

2011 Minestrone 

2010 Minestrone

A 2017 Winter Minestrone

from an Ina Garten recipe

serves 6 to 8

Ingredients
2 Tablespoons olive oil

4 strips of thick-sliced bacon, chopped

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 cups carrots, chopped

4 large stalks celery, chopped
1 sweet pepper, chopped (I used a poblano instead)

2 Tablespoons garlic, peeled & chopped

2 teaspoons Italian herb mix (Penzeys)

1 heaping teaspoon dried basil

2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes with juice

8 cups low-sodium chicken stock, divided

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper, to taste

1 can small white beans, drained & rinsed

2 cups cabbage, chopped (I used Napa)

1 medium zucchini, chopped

1 cup green beans, chopped (I used frozen)

4 cups fresh baby spinach, loosely packed

1/2 cup white wine (I used prosecco, because it was open)

2 cups cooked small pasta, tubes or small shells

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, &/or a gremolata mix of parsley, garlic and lemon zest for serving

Directions

1. Use a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven and heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until lightly browned but not crisp. 

2. Add the onion, carrots, celery, pepper, garlic, Italian herbs and basil to the pot and cook until the vegetables begin to soften.

3. Add tomatoes with their juices, 6 cups of chicken stock and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered until vegetables are tender.

4. Add white beans, cabbage, zucchini and green beans; cook until heated through and cabbage is slightly softened. Add remaining chicken broth as needed, though minestrone should be fairly thick.

Taste and adjust seasonings (typically more salt and occasionally some hot sauce).

5. Add the wine and spinach; stir in until greens wilt. 

6. Spoon equal portions of cooked pasta, about 1/3 cup each, into individual soup bowls; ladle the soup over the the pasta. Top each with Parmesan and/or gremolata and serve.

Speedy Sausage, Kale & Potato Soup

Brrrrrr, early this morning the view through the window was wet, gray and totally uninspiring so I made the obvious decision to stay snugly tucked under the covers and read. Hours rolled by as The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt transported me into other lives, other worlds. No book review here; I'm still processing my many mixed responses to this lengthy Pulitzer Prize winning novel. But shortly after noon a series of annoying stomach rumbles reminded me that breakfast was a lost hope and I'd better get up and start moving on lunch prep. 

Soup fit my mood and the weather; quick comfort food is always a good thing on a cool, dreary day. The open bag of Halloween candy, my favorite Snickers bars conveniently stored on an adjacent kitchen counter, didn't even tempt as an emergency snack. Nope, instead some spicy chicken Andouille sausage, Yukon gold potatoes and curly kale prompted a flurry of chopping and cooking, tasting and seasoning without benefit of a recipe. The result? A warming bowl of soup that pleased us both. How do I know? RL ate two full servings and didn't even reach for the hot sauce. 

Lemon zest and juice added an extra pop to each bowl, brightening the flavor while avoiding a too-sour bite. Soups and stews typically improve with an overnight rest, so I am eagerly anticipating another bowlful at lunch tomorrow. 

 Speedy Sausage, Kale and Potato Soup

serves 3-4

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, medium dice
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
2 links cooked sausage, sliced (precooked chicken Andouille today)
2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, cut in 1" dice
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried basil
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 cups kale, destemmed & roughly chopped
zest of 1 large lemon
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup instant potato flakes (optional)
lemon wedges to serve alongside
shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Heat the olive oil in a medium kettle over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for several minutes to soften. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute or so until fragrant. 

Add the coins of sausage, diced potatoes and herbs; toss to coat. Add the chicken broth and cook until the potatoes are just tender. 

Add the kale and cook a few minutes longer until softened. Stir in the lemon zest. Taste and adjust seasonings.

For a thicker broth, stir in instant potato flakes, 1/4 cup at a time. (You could mash the cooked potatoes to thicken the soup, but I like a thicker broth and potato chunks.)

Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with shredded Parmesan and serve with lemon wedges.

White Bean Chicken Chili - a quick version

This recipe is a speedier chicken version of Chile Verde, a boat or shoreside favorite when I have time to cook from scratch. However roasting chiles and tomatillos, slowly simmering chicken pieces, soaking and cooking dried beans and grilling fresh corn doesn't work when you want dinner soon... like right now... "is dinner ready yet?" soon. This week I pulled a container of White Bean Chicken Chili out of the freezer and looked like a hero when a quick meal was in order. 

I've found that the flavors mellow and deepen when the chili is cooled and reheated, a tasty bonus when making a double batch to freeze. You might want to add additional chicken broth or maybe some green taco or enchilada sauce if the chili thickens too much after a day or two in the fridge, or decide to use the thicker chili as a terrific taco and enchilada filling. Fill some crispy, store-bought tortilla chip scoops with thick chili for an easy appetizer, or griddle some cheese and chili-filled quesadillas for lunch. Yummy! 

Photo: White Bean Chicken Chili topped with a dollop of sour cream and a drizzle of green enchilada sauce.

What's your favorite chili recipe? I have too many favorites to pick just one, but this recipe certainly rates two thumbs up for Quick and Tasty.

White Bean Chicken Chili

based on a recipe at epicurious (link)

4 servings, but you will want to double the recipe for tasty leftovers, or to have some to freeze.

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, small dice
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon chili powder (Penzey's Chili 3000 preferred)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 Poblano chiles, roasted, deseeded & chopped (or canned chiles)
6 chicken thighs, cooked & shredded (or use rotisserie chicken) 
1 cup frozen corn kernels
3 cans (15-oz) cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
2+ cups low-salt chicken broth
salt and white pepper, to taste (optional)
1/4 cup Mexican crema (optional)

Topping suggestions:
fresh salsa:tomato/cilantro/green onion/lime
fresh cilantro
grated pepper jack or cheddar cheese
avocado chunks
sour cream
lime wedges
hot sauce (green Tabasco preferred) 
corn tortilla strips 

Directions:

1. Use a medium pot and heat the olive oil. Cook the onion until softened. 
2. Add the next 6 ingredients, garlic through smoked paprika, and heat until fragrant. 
3. Toss in the chopped chiles and shredded chicken, turning to coat all with the spice mixture. Cook for a few minutes, adding more olive oil if the pot begin to dry out.
4. Add the corn, beans, and 2 cups of chicken broth to the pot; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings to taste, adding salt and white pepper if desired.
5. Mash some of the beans to thicken the chili somewhat. Stir in the crema, if using, and add more chicken broth if you want a soupier chili.
6. Let the chili sit to blend the flavors, reheating gently to serve with a variety of toppings.

Notes: 

• Like so many other soups and chilis, this chili will thicken and develop a deeper, more mellow flavor after an overnight rest in the fridge.
• Adding a few Tablespoons of lime juice or green enchilada sauce to the pot offers a popular flavor adjustment.
• Add more broth for a looser mix to create a delicious southwestern soup.
• Serve the chili over cooked rice or potatoes for a heartier dish. 

Feijoada - an all-in-one-pot soup version

Reputed to be the national dish of Brazil, possibly reflecting a Portuguese influence (link), feijoada is the perfect comfort-food antidote to a cold snowy day... or a chilly wet weekend... even a bracing sunny day. Simple enough to whip up for family meals, it might also please company at a soup and bread feast. Our first introduction to feijoada was ages ago, as guests at an open house feast hosted by friends who were home again following a multi-year posting in Brazil. Their feijoada presented various cuts of grilled pork and pork sausages piled alongside spicy, soupy beans, some greens and bowls of fluffy rice. Both the event and the meal were memorably delicious.

A classic feijoada would include a variety of meat selections, typically pork; some smoked or cured, some fresh, some spicy and some mild. Dried beans would simmer on the stovetop for hours to soften, perhaps 1/4 of the cooked beans reserved to puree and thicken the juices. Traditional side dishes might include collard greens, garlic rice, thinly sliced oranges, and perhaps some tiny hot peppers.    

This isn't that; it's a soup more "in the spirit of" a traditional feijoada. Reminiscent of Cajun red beans and rice, yet totally different, we loved this soup on day one. On day two the beans had soaked up much of the broth, turning my feijoada into more of a stew, still flavor packed and satisfying. This substantial bean and pork soup/stew now ranks high on the list of our favorite winter comfort food recipes. What's your favorite meaty bean soup?

Feijoada - a non-traditional soup version

adapted from recipes by Bernice Ojakangas, Soup and Bread Cookbook  and Sheila Lukins, All Around the World Cookbook


2 cans low-sodium black beans, rinsed & drained
4 slices thick-cut bacon, in 2" dice 
or use 1 TBS olive oil (bacon grease adds more flavor)
3 cups yellow onions, chopped 
3 cloves garlic, peeled & minced or pressed
8 to 12 oz  of smoked sausage (Falls Brand Chorizo), 1/2" dice
1 can (14-oz) diced low-sodium tomatoes 
1/2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp red-pepper flakes
1 can (14-oz) low-sodium beef broth, heated
2+ cups hot, cooked rice
pickled jalapenos, sliced (optional)
grated zest from 1 orange
1 orange, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped

1. Drain and rinse the black beans, repeat, drain again and set aside.
2. Cook the bacon pieces (or just heat the olive oil) in a large, wide-bottomed pot over medium-high heat to render the fat. Add the onion & garlic; cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. 
3. Add the diced sausage; cook until browned slightly and some fat is released. Add the tomatoes, cumin, red pepper flakes, drained beans and half of the heated broth. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until heated through, adding remaining broth as necessary.
4. Serve in individual bowls over a mound of rice and top with the chopped orange chunks, orange zest, parsley and jalapenos (if using). Or cool the soup and refrigerate, letting the flavors develop and meld, then reheat to serve. 

Cheese Soup with Vegetables

Here's the recipe for today's warming bowl of soup, some comfort food to welcome the 2016 Winter Solstice on December 21, a day when the sun reaches its most southerly declination. This is the shortest day and longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere. In Seattle solstice daylight measures 8 hours, 25 minutes and 25 seconds between sunrise and sunset. I mistakenly thought solstice had already arrived on several dark, dreary days earlier this month, times when the clouds covered the sun for the entire day. And today, the shortest day of the year, the sun shone all day. Go figure!

Humans have noted this special day for ages. link link  

"The Stonehenge monument - built in 3,000 to 2,000 BC - shows how carefully our ancestors watched the sun

 "Across the world in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, the ancient stonewalled city Mayan city of Tulum also has a structure honoring the solstices. When the sun rises on the winter (and the summer) solstice, its rays shine through a small hole at the top of one of the stone buildings, which creates a starburst effect. 

"Stonehenge is carefully aligned on a sight-line that points to the winter solstice sunset...

"It is thought that the winter solstice was actually more important to the people who constructed Stonehenge than the summer solstice. The winter solstice was a time when most cattle were slaughtered (so they would not have to be fed during the winter) and the majority of wine and beer was finally fermented.

With no cattle to slaughter and a total lack of homebrew to sample, I'll honor the Winter Solstice with a bowl of soup, some comfort food to warm the tummy and recognize the shortened daylight hours. I'll also celebrate the fact that from now on the days will grow longer, minute by minute, until we reach the summer solstice with its promise of maximum light. Sigh, my inner California girl is so ready for more hours of sunshine!
   
This cheese soup is not showstoppingly pretty, not even close, but it does pack a delicious flavor punch. Think cheese fondue studded with healthy vegetables and you're close. Version 1 of the recipe came from the Vincent Price cookbook, A Treasury of Great Recipes. Price's recipe for Vermont Cheese Soup strained the vegetables (leeks, celery & onions) out of the broth to produce a silky liquid base for melting the cheese. I added carrots to the mix in Version 2 and did not strain out the vegetables. This produced a more casual, rustic soup, somewhat heartier than Price's refined, suitable-for-company presentation.    

Photo: Version 2 Cheese Soup with Vegetables

In Version 3 cauliflower and broccoli florets, minced garlic and fresh thyme joined the party. I tinkered with the process, played with the seasonings, and voila! we have a new current favorite. Here's the 2016 version of Cheese Soup with Vegetables from my galley.

Cheese Soup with Vegetables

3 Tbs butter

1 fat leek, chopped (white part only)

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled & minced

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1/2 cup cauliflower florets

1/2 cup broccoli florets

2 Tbs flour

1/8 tsp white pepper

1/8 tsp nutmeg

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 cups half-and-half

Hot sauce, to taste, or sprinkle of cayenne (optional)

Generous splash or two of dry vermouth or sherry

1 cup, firmly packed, shredded sharp white cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

Fresh thyme leaves for topping

1. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat. Add leeks & onions; stir occasionally & cook until softened.
2. Add the garlic, celery, carrots, cauliflower & broccoli; cook for a minute or two until garlic is fragrant. Sprinkle the flour, pepper & nutmeg over the vegetables and stir to coat. Cook until the mixture just begins to brown.
3. Whisk in the chicken broth & cream. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat and simmer until vegetables soften to desired texture.   
4. Move the pot off the heat & stir in the hot sauce and vermouth. Let the soup cool slightly to avoid curdling when you add the cheese. Slowly add the shredded cheddar and jack cheese, whisking until the cheese melts. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves and serve immediately.

Note: to hold and reheat, remember to use low heat. DO NOT let it boil or it will separate. I guarantee it. The soup will taste the same, but look... unlovely. 

Mixed-Bean Soup with Sausage and Greens

Photo: Four different beans, sausage, vegetables and kale in a flavorful broth

Bean soup - when did it turn into such a taste treat? Not when I was a youngster, dreading Mom's endless pots of Split Pea or Navy Bean Soup. Not as a teenager, politely but firmly declining Ten-Bean Soup during Rose Parade/Rose Bowl events. Years later I  raved about the Lentil Soup served in the basement cafeteria of Raitt Hall on the University of Washington campus. My kitchen files hold a tattered and splattered 3x5 file card from the 70's that includes both the recipe and many years of  adjustments to a dynamite Cuban Black Bean Soup. Somewhere over the years I went from a bean soup hater to bean soup lover... okay, I'm still not too fond of traditional Navy Bean Soup.

Here's a recipe I'm playing with this month, tweaking repeated batches since the soup adapts well to changes in seasonings and base ingredients. That adaptability keeps us well-fed without the boredom of repetition. As written, the original version yields a hearty, well-flavored broth nicely loaded with beans and bits of sausage and vegetables. Beyond a few focused minutes of chopping, slicing and dicing, this kettle of goodness requires minimal hands-on effort and little time. The flavors do benefit from an overnight rest - time to blend and mellow - but the soup is tasty on day one. Double the recipe if you are going to feed a crowd.

Photo: A spicy SW bean and hominy soup with sausage and vegetables 

This weekend's kettle of soup was a spicier version, leaning more Southwest or Tex-Mex in spicy heat. While not as thick as a chili it was heading in that direction flavorwise. I can almost hear some diehard chiliheads gasping in horror: real chili doesn't have any beans (nope, none, zero, zip, nada) and this is such a bean centric recipe. Relax, I'm only talking about the chili flavors here, not the solids.  

It's still football season and my half-time meals or tailgating menus will see more bean soups before Super Bowl Sunday. (Go, Seahawks!!) Perhaps I'll try another flavor variation, maybe a different multi-bean twist, or I might turn instead to one of these bean soup favorites...

Black Bean with Chorizo
Lentil Soup
Ad-Lib Posole
Green Pozole with Chicken
Red Posole/Pozole Rojo 
Tuscan White Bean Soup

Do you have a favorite legume soup? Share the recipe or a link to it in a comment. 

Mixed-Bean Soup

adapted from Soup (Williams-Sonoma Collection) 2001

Serves 8

2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 strips thick-sliced bacon
2 links cooked chicken Andouille sausage, cut in coins or small chunks
1 large yellow onion, small dice
2 peeled carrots, small dice
1 poblano pepper, remove seeds & membrane & cut in small dice
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and rained
2 cans cannellini (white) beans, rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes with juices
8 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/4-cup fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced 
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups kale, destemmed and cut in bite-size pieces
1 generous cup of ham, small dice (optional)

Optional flavor additions and garnish:
*Gremolata for topping
Splash of green Tabasco or other hot sauce
Drizzle of olive oil and red wine vinegar to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Warm the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat; add the bacon and cook until crisp. Set aside on paper towels to drain: chop and reserve as garnish.
2. Sauté the sausage coins in the oil and bacon fat to brown slightly. Add the onions to the pot and cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the carrots and poblano and cook until barely softened, another 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Add the next 11 ingredients, beans through thyme. Cover the pot and bring to a boil; reduce the heat and cook at a low simmer for 20 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
4. Let cool to mellow and blend the flavors (or skip this step if you are hungry and in a hurry. Remove 1/4 of the soup to another container and puree with a stick blender. Return the pureed soup to the larger soup pot.
5. Reheat the soup over medium heat; add the kale and ham (if using), cooking to heat through. Taste and adjust seasonings - I typically add Green Tabasco and red wine vinegar at this point. You may want to offer them at table to suit individual tastes.
6. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and garnish with a generous sprinkle of gremolata and bacon bits. (Don't skip the gremolata - it makes a difference!) Offer grated Parmesan, hot sauce, olive oil and red wine vinegar at the table as well.

*Gremolata
Stir together in a small bowl:
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced
grated zest of 1 large or 2 small lemons
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

**     **     **     **     **     **     **     **     **

OR you might take the soup in a SouthWest/Tex-Mex direction like I did this weekend and use one or some of the following suggestions...

...substitute a 50/50 blend of hominy and pinto beans for the 4-bean combination noted above
...substitute cumin, cilantro and Mexican oregano for the rosemary and thyme.
...add fresh cilantro in addition to the fresh parsley.
...use more poblanos or add tamed jalapeños
...substitute 1 pound crumbled pork sausage or chorizo in step 2 (drain off the excess oils) and skip the ham in step 5.

Red Posole (Pozole Rojo)

Even before opening my eyes I knew, it was going to be one of those days weatherwise. The wind howled outside, rattling the glass and shaking the screens on the sliding glass doors. Rain pelted the windows with a rhythmic rat-a-tat-tat fury. Finally awake and out of bed, I marveled at the three-foot surf racing across the lake to pound against our rock breakwater and roll up onto the small gravel beach. This was a perfect excuse to stay warm and dry inside and make one of our favorite comfort-food soups, pork posole (pozole). 

The recipe may look lengthy, but it is a shortcut version with remarkably little hands-on time for the cook. While the meat simmers low and slow in the oven the kitchen smells heavenly, perfumed with Southwest aromas. The aroma alone recalls fond memories of flavorful bowls of posole in New Mexico during SW road trips. More "authentic traditional" posole recipes call for (1) reconstituting and cooking hominy - field corn boiled with slaked lime and dried  - and (2) building an ancho chile puree from dried peppers  that have been toasted, deseeded, soaked and pureed. Not necessary, in my opinion, this quicker version is plenty tasty without requiring a full day of cooking.   

Posole, likened to a soupy stew, is often a celebratory dish in northern New Mexico, offered red, green or Christmas-style during the holidays.

 New Mexico is the only state with an official question—"Red or green?"—referring to the choice of red or green chile. Combining both red and green chile is often referred to as "Christmas". Wikipedia

We don't need a holiday or special occasion to enjoy posole at home. Red/rojo or green/verde, served with an array of garnishes, this soup can make any meal seem like a celebration. Not fond of pork? Try this delicious Green Posole with Chicken recipe instead. Or get creative and develop your own version.

Red Posole (Pozole Rojo)

adapted from a recipe in Cook's Illustrated, Soups and Stews, 2001

6 servings (depending on bowl size and appetites)

1 (3-pound) bone-in pork shoulder roast (or the equivalent in thick cut steaks or meaty neck bones)

Salt and coarse-ground black pepper

2-3 Tablespoons Canola oil

1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped

2 poblano chiles, deseeded and chopped

3 cloves garlic minced

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes (low-sodium)

1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

1 teaspoon dried cilantro

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1+ Tablespoons Chipotle Tabasco or homemade ancho chile slurry

2 15-ounce cans white or yellow hominy, drained and rinsed

Garnish options:

1 lime, cut into wedges

3 radishes, sliced thin

2 green onions, green and white portions, sliced thin

1 avocado, diced

fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

6 jalapeño and sweet mini peppers seeded, sliced thin into rounds

Romaine or iceberg lettuce or cabbage shreds

Pepper jack cheese, shredded

Lime-flavored tortilla chips or fresh tortillas, warmed

Hot sauce or homemade ancho chile slurry

Directions:

1. Place an oven rack in the lower-middle position; heat oven to 300 degrees F. Trim any thick skin and excess chunks of fat from the meat; cut the pork into large pieces of varying sizes along the lines of the muscles. Cut away the bones if using shoulder roast or steaks, but reserve and set aside. Generously season the meat with salt and pepper on both sides.
2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook the onions and poblanos until softened, but not browned, 3-5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to remove the onion/poblano mix and set aside in a bowl.
3. Add a single layer of meat and bones to the pot and cook until the pork is no longer pink on the outside surfaces but not crisp and browned. Use a slotted spoon to remove to a bowl and repeat with the remaining meat in several batches as needed.
4. Return the meat and bones to the pan; add tomatoes and their juices, oregano, cilantro, chicken broth, green Tabasco and a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer and skim off any ugly gray scum (while it doesn’t affect the taste much, it looks unsavory). Add the softened onion/poblano mix to the pot; cover and cook in the preheated 300 degree F oven until the meat is tender, typically 90-120 minutes.
5. When the meat is cooked tender enough to shred with two forks, remove the pot from the oven and remove the meat and bones from the pot. Add the drained and rinsed hominy to the broth; cover and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Cook until hominy heats through and the flavors blend, about 30 minutes.  
6. While the hominy cooks, use two forks or your fingers to shred the meat into bite-size pieces. Discard the bones and any large strands or chunks of fat. Return the shredded meat to the pot and simmer until heated, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings (usually salt and hot sauce in my kitchen).
7. Spoon off any excess fat that arises to the top if you are serving the posole immediately. Or refrigerate and remove congealed fat before reheating at a later time.
8. Ladle the soup into individual warmed bowls and serve immediately with a variety of garnishes.