A Month of Soups: Pork Posole

Here we are at Day 5 of a Month of Soups. Are you keeping up?

Alli and Gina in my culinary mystery series, “Dinner is Served”, love to make soups and stews. They are nourishing comfort food. Even though there are relatively few cold days in Arizona, still, we do get a touch chilly, so soups are great to eat.

Here’s one of their favorites with a nod to Southwest cuisine. Posole (pronounced POE-SOLE-AY) is a standard stew/soup. Serve with corn bread and hunks of sharp cheddar cheese and tart apple slices for a satisfying dinner.

As with all soups, posole is better the next day or at least several hours later. I always make my soup no later than the morning of the day I am serving it for dinner. Let the flavors and textures get to know one another.

Alli and Gina’s Pork Posole (serves 8)

1 T olive oil

1-1 ½# pork roast, cubed, fresh or leftover

2 c diced onions

4 cloves of garlic, sliced

4 c poultry stock or broth

1 cinnamon stick

¼ t ground cloves

½ t cumin

2 cans (15.5 oz) yellow hominy

2 cans (15.5 oz) white hominy

small can (4 oz) diced green chilies (adding other kinds of peppers can up the heat level)

If the pork is fresh, put in freezer for ½ hour to stiffen it up, then cut into cubes.

Brown the cubes in heated olive oil over medium heat. Remove.

Add onions to the pot and bring to translucence. Add garlic slices. Cook for two more minutes, stirring as you wait.

Add in pork and stir around to coat the meat.

Add broth, cinnamon stick, cloves, and cumin. Stir. Add in white and yellow hominy and chilies. Bring to a simmer. Cook for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and cool until ready to serve. Remove cinnamon stick and re-heat. Serve.

Sometimes I make this with chicken. Delish that way, too!

DH’s rating: 4 Tongues Up! This is filling and has a wonderful blend of flavors and textures.