Red Posole

This is another one of my favorite dishes that I was introduced to while living in New Mexico.  It a traditional Mexican dish, but very prevalent in New Mexico.  I found out from Homesick Texan, that it is often served on New Year's day in New Mexico.  For me, summer makes me think of posole, since I was living in New Mexico during the summer.

I actually really like hot, spicy food in the summer.  It seems like I shouldn't.

I also am obsessed with all things brothy.  I love broth!  BTW, this tastes better and better the longer it sits in the fridge as leftovers.  

I made posole all the time while living in New Mexico.  Posole is a soup made up of pork, hominy and lots of spices.  If you have never had hominy, I highly recommend it.  It is kind of like a corny bean.  They are actually just big corn kernels that have been treated in such a way that the skin comes off and they sort of explode.   It results in a really nice texture.  You can buy them dried or canned.  They have them at the grocery stores here in Colorado, but I am not sure if they are available everywhere.  I would guess that they are available at most grocery stores.

But, this is by far the best recipe I have used.  And I love the vague directions like "cook for a couple of hours".  My kind of recipe!  

Red Posole

from Homesick Texan

1 pound of dried posole or two 29 oz. cans of hominy, drained

1 pound of pork shoulder, cubed

1 medium onion, diced

8 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons of lard, bacon grease, corn or canola oil

8 cups of water (can substitute part with beer or chicken broth for more flavor)

1 smoked ham hock

1 tablespoon Mexican oregano (can substitute regular oregano)

1 tablespoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

2 tablespoons ancho chile powder

9 New Mexico chiles, stems and seeds removed

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Juice of one lime

For serving:

One avocado sliced

One lime cut into wedges

1 cup of cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup of diced onion

Tortillas and tortilla chips

If using dried hominy, soak the hominy a gallon of water for at least eight hours until it’s doubled in size.

In a large pot, heat up the lard and cook the onion for 10 minutes. Add the pork and brown on each side for a couple of minutes. Throw in the garlic and cook for one more minute.

Pour the water into the pot and add the ham hock, oregano, cumin, ground cloves and ancho-chile powder. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a low simmer.

Meanwhile, take your New Mexican chiles and cook on high in a dry cast-iron skillet until the pop, a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat, add water to the skillet and let the chiles soak until hydrated, about half an hour.

Drain the chile-soaking liquid, and place the chiles in a blender. Add one cup of water and blend on high until a smooth puree has formed. Stir the chile puree into the soup pot.

After a couple of hours, add the hominy to the pot along with the juice of one lime and the chopped cilantro. At this point, adjust your spices and add salt to the pot. Continue to cook on low for a couple more hours.

Pour into bowls and serve with diced onions, lime wedges, chopped cilantro, avocado slices and tortillas or tortilla chips.

(Servings: 8, Prep time: 10 min., Cook time: 4-6 hrs., Difficulty: Easy)

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New Mexican Green Chili Pizza

Back to my pizza stone.  I have been making Pioneer Woman style pizzas for the past couple of months.  I love her crust and the idea that it tastes better with time and is made on a baking sheet.  However, I also love pizza stone pizza.  Totally different texture.  Softer on the inside.  It is crispy on the outside, but in a different way from PW's crust.  Her crust has quite a bit more oil in it, which makes it thin and crispy.  The crust I used for this recipe is more traditional and the crispness on the outside comes from the stone rather than from the oil.  

I had the idea to do a New Mexican pizza because we were so lucky to receive authentic roasted, peeled and diced NM green chilies back in March.  Shipped to our door! Amazing!

This pizza was formed to spotlight NM green chilis.  In addition, I topped with frozen corn, thinly sliced red onion and crisp bacon pieces.  Then, to cut the heat from the chilis, I added little pieces of cream cheese and shredded Monterey Jack and sharp cheddar.  It was amazing.  Really, really enjoyed it.

The NM green chili really makes this pizza.  But, if you want to try it and can't get a hold of them, you could sub other green chilis or even some jalapenos.  I think you can easily get the same effect if you simply roast whatever peppers you choose yourself.  

I think it would also be great with sausage (chorizo!) instead of bacon.  

New Mexican Green Chili Pizza

1 pizza crust (I used 1/2 of this recipe)

2-3 tbsp of tomato/pizza sauce

1/2 - 1 cup New Mexican green chilis, roasted, peeled and chopped

1/4 cup of frozen corn

10 very thin slices of red onion

3-4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

2-3 tbsp of cream cheese

1 cup of shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar

1 tbsp olive oil

Place pizza stone in oven and preheat oven and pizza stone to 500 degrees F.

Roll/stretch out pizza dough on a pizza peel (or parchment paper) dusted with corn meal. Slide dough onto pizza stone in oven and cook for about 2 minutes. Precooking the crust makes it much easier to slide pizza into oven after toppings are on. Remove from oven using pizza peel.

Top pizza. First, coat with tomato sauce. Then, cover with green chilis. Top with corn, red onion slices, crumbled bacon and little bits of cream cheese. Cover everything with shredded Monterey Jack and sharp cheddar cheese. Brush crust with olive oil.

Slide pizza back onto pizza stone and cook for about 10 minutes or until cheese and crust are golden brown.

(Servings: 4, Prep time: 30 min., Cook time: 12 min., Difficulty: Easy)

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Green Chile Enchiladas with Traditional Red Rice

Last week, we received the most thoughtful gift ever. Authentic, New Mexican green chile! One of the friends of my sister-in-law who came for brunch last month is living in New Mexico. Over brunch, Scot and I told her all about our love for NM green chile. And she so kindly shared her batch with us.

We lived in New Mexico for a summer and go back often for our research. That first summer, we fell in love with New Mexican food. I tried to make various dishes. Talked to all the old New Mexican women about the tricks to making good, authentic New Mexican food. It is very heavy food. But, it also pretty much always has green chile in it. And in New Mexico, they like it hot. Like so hot it makes you sweat. And I think because the food is so spicy, it doesn't feel as heavy. Because you lose half your body weight in sweat. I love it. Scot might love it more.

Even at Subway, they have green chile to put on your sandwich. I mean, it is really more than a condiment. It is like air. Like breathing. Maybe like salt?

When I received these wonderful bags of green chile, I knew immediately I needed to make these green chile enchiladas. This is a very common New Mexican dish. I made it several times while I was in NM, but have also made it several times in CO. They sell some pretty decent frozen green chile at our grocery store. It does not compare to the real stuff. Like at all. But, it is better than nothing. I also have bought other green chiles (not New Mexican), and roasted them myself. So, even if you don't live in NM, there is hope for you! You can make this! But honestly, you just need to go to NM and order this at one of the many amazing family-run restaurants. The ones that have warnings on the menu that say they are not responsible for how hot the green chile is.

See, I am not big into enchiladas. They are fine, but I would not normally make a pan of enchiladas. Not a big fan of casserole-y cheesey pans of food. But, this is one of my favorite dishes. I love the corn, chicken, green chile combo. It is totally different from any other enchilada I have ever had. Sometimes they use blue corn tortillas, which is equally delicious.

I prefer to use a whole roasted chicken for this recipe. Sometimes I will buy it roasted, sometimes I will roast it myself. This time I did roast it myself. I also have an obsession with crispy chicken skin. I have loved it since I was really young. Not the greatest thing to love.

Ok, this is getting long. But, I like to serve these green chile enchiladas with red rice. It is the perfect combo.

Green Chile Enchiladas

from Authentic Southwest Cooking

12 corn tortillas

Vegetable oil

4 cups cooked, skinned, and boned chicken diced

1 1/2 cups grated Monteray Jack cheese

1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 cup chicken stock

2 cups milk

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

2 mild long green chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped

salt

1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese

Heat just enough vegetable oil in a frying pan to lightly coat each tortilla and turn each tortilla in the hot oil just until soft. Equally divide, the chicken, Monteray Jack cheese, and onion and place on each tortilla. Roll up the tortillas and place in a lightly greased 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish.

Melt the butter in a cast iron skillet, briskly stir in the flour, and cook over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring or whisking constantly. Then add the chicken stock and stir well.

Add the milk, garlic powder, black pepper, cumin, and green chile to the pan, bring it to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat and cook over low heat until warmed, stirring to blend everything. Taste and season with salt. Pour the sauce over the rolled tortillas. Sprinkle with the grated cheddar cheese and bake in a 325 degree oven for 30 minutes or until the casserole is hot and bubbly.

Serve at once.

(Servings: 8, Prep time: 45 min., Cook time: 30 min., Difficulty: Easy)

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Traditional Red Rice

from Authentic Southwest Cooking

3 tbsp olive oil

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, seeded, membranes removed, and diced

1 cup medium grain white rice

1 glove garlic, minced

2 ripe, red tomatoes, peeled and diced

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce

2 cups water

1/2 tsp salt

Heat the oil in a heavy pan, sauté the onion and bell pepper, then stir in the rice and sauté until lightly colored. Add the garlic and stir. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, and salt. Cover, turn heat down to a very low simmer, and cook for 20 minutes. Check the rice 2 or 3 times during the cooking process and stir with a fork each time.

(Servings: 6, Prep time: 15 min., Cook time: 40 min., Difficulty: Easy)

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