This Pozole Verde literally may be my favorite soup recipe, and I’ve made some good ones over the years. I usually make a white chicken pozole, but this time I went all authentic and used tomatillos, serrano peppers and pork to make this Pozole Verde recipe.
Now you may be thinking that it sounds spicy, but let me be
the first to tell you that it’s not. In
fact, I don’t even really like spicy food all that much. I like things comfortably spicy, nothing
worse than not tasting anything other then your mouth being on fire while you
dump milk all over your face.
Before I started making this soup I was a little torn on
where to start. Do I put all of the
ingredients in a pot and just slow cook it until it’s done? Do I cook things separately then combine
them? There is no right way or wrong
way, but what I decided to do was to oven roast the tomatillos and serrano
peppers. I coated them in olive oil and
cooked them at 425° for 20 minutes and then I turned on the broiler and cooked
them for a further 4 to 5 minutes to help char.
From there I pureed the tomatillos and serrano peppers (minus the
seeds), along with some cilantro leaves, pepitas, oregano and cumin until
smooth.
I’ve always been a little weirded out when putting raw protein in a slow cooker along with vegetables and just cooking it. Not sure why it bothers me, but it does. I seared the pork shoulder on all sides in a bit of olive oil until it was completely golden brown on every side, and then added it to a cast iron pot with some caramelized onions and garlic. Now because I want to reserve a little flavor for later I only poured half of the verde sauce on the pork and then simmered it in chicken stock for 3 hours until the pork easily shredded apart. Sometimes when slow cooking you can lose flavor over that long period, so to maximize that tomatillo and serrano flavor I waited until the soup was just about done to add in the rest.
There is no pozole without hominy. You may have seen it in a grocery store and
wondered just what it was exactly.
Simply put it’s corn that is treated in a lye solution and then
canned. Don’t worry it’s completely safe
to eat, and delicious by the way, just strain and rinse. To finish off the soup with a little more
corn flavor I seared up some corn kernels in a little olive oil and mixed it
right in! There is a great company here
in the Midwest called “Husk” that sells fresh right off the cob frozen sweet
corn and it’s a really superior product, you’ll love it!
It’s all about the toppings when it comes to soup so I
loaded up this Pozole Verde with thinly sliced radishes, avocado, fresh
oregano, pepitas and lemons in case it’s too spicy for you. You’ll for sure make this soup again once
you’ve tried it. It is officially a
family favorite in my house hold, and because is so comforting to eat and easy
to make it’ll be a staple in yours as well.
Pozole Verde Soup
INGREDIENTS
- 6 medium sized tomatillos, husk removed
- 2 serrano peppers
- 2 tablespoons of pepitas
- 1 teaspoons of cumin
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 3 tablespoons of dry oregano
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 20 to 25 cilantro leaves
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2-pound pork shoulder roast
- 1 small diced yellow onion
- 2 finely minced cloves of garlic
- 10 cups of chicken stock
- Three 28 ounce cans of strained and rinsed white hominy
- 2 cups of cooked corn off the cob
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- Sliced radishes for garnish
- Diced avocado for garnish
- Lemon slices for garnish
- Fresh oregano leaves for garnish
- Pepitas for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 425°.
- Place the tomatillos and serrano peppers on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and coat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Bake the pan in the oven for 20 minutes and then turn the broiler to low and cook for 5 more minutes until charred.
- Remove the seeds from the serrano peppers and add it to a blender along with the tomatillos, tablespoons of pepitas, cumin, sugar, dry oregano, lemon juice and cilantro leaves and puree on high until smooth and set aside.
- Next, season the pork on all sides with salt and pepper and sear it over high heat in a a saute pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil until golden brown. Set the pork aside.
- In a large cast iron pan on high heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, caramelize the onions and garlic. Once brown add in the seared pork, ½ of the verde sauce and chicken stock and cook over low heat for 3 hours or until the pork shreds apart with ease.
- Finish the soup by adding in the hominy, cooked corn, salt and pepper.
- Garnish with radishes, avocado, lemon slices, fresh oregano leaves and pepitas.
