Chicken Posole Verde
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Confession: I’ve never actually had posole before, but something in my tummy was like “make this now”, so I did.
And it was DELICIOUS.
Granted, I don’t have anything to compare its deliciousness to, but my tongue knows in the depths of its soul that this is it.
I love charring veggies for soups; there’s something about the depth of flavor and smokiness a few charred bits of vegetable can add. Can you skip this part? Sure. Is it worth doing? Hell yeah.
You’ll need chicken pieces, chicken broth, pepitas / pumpkin seeds (hulled), hominy, cilantro, epazote or oregano, tomatillos, jalapenos, onion, garlic and bay leaf.
Start by toasting the raw pepitas in a dry pan over medium heat until slightly puffed, about 6-8 minutes.
Once completely cooled, grind them in a spice/coffee grinder or use a mortar and pestle. Or a zip lock bag and a heavy ass pan… as long as it’s all ground up.
Bring the chicken broth to a boil in large pot and add bay leaf, half of the onions, half of the garlic and 1 tsp of salt. Reduce to a simmer and add in chicken pieces. Keep the liquid at a simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 20-30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the broth and let cool. Once cool enough to handle, shred into bite size pieces, discarding the skin and bones.
Strain the broth, discarding the solids.
Grill or broil the tomatillos and jalapenos until the skin chars in places, about 10-15 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove the charred skins (a little char here and there is just fine, and actually preferred)..
In a medium bowl, combine the roasted tomatillos and jalapenos with cilantro, epazote or oregano, the remaining garlic and onion and 1 cup of the reserved broth.
Left: Using an immersion blender (or traditional blender, in batches if necessary) puree the tomatillo mixture until smooth.
Right: Heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a large, heavy pot until almost smoking. Reduce heat to medium and add in tomatillo puree. Cook until slightly thickened and color deepens, about 15 minutes.
Add the ground pepitas to the pot and simmer an additional 5 minutes.
Add in the shredded chicken and hominy.
And, finally, 3 cups of the reserved chicken broth. You may have some left over – it’s like liquid gold though, save it! Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 more minutes.
Could you eat it just like this? Sure! But half of the fun is customizing the soup to your liking with all kinds of garnishes…
I like to garnish with avocado, green onion, sliced radish and lime juice.
And then I finish with a little flaky sea salt. Because, salt.
yuuuup.
- 1/2 cup raw pepitas / pumpkin seeds
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 1/2 tsp salt, more to taste
- 3 lbs chicken thighs
- 1 lb tomatillos, husked
- 2 jalapeños, quartered
- 3/4 cup cilantro leaves
- 1 stem epazote, leaves only or 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 30 oz can white hominy, rinsed and drained
- In a dry pan, toast pepitas over low heat until they just start to puff - they shouldn't brown. Once cooled, grind in a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle.
- Bring broth to a boil with bay leaf, 1 tsp salt, half of the onions and half of the garlic. Reduce to a simmer and add chicken. Keep the liquid simmering until chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes. Remove the chicken from the liquid. Once cool enough to handle, discard chicken skin and bones, then shred the meat into bite size pieces. Strain the solids from the broth and discard. Set broth aside.
- Roast the tomatillos and jalapeños until mostly charred, either over and open flame or under the broiler (about 10-15 minutes). Once cool enough to handle, remove the charred skins (a few bits of char here and there are just fine!) and place in a medium bowl. Add in remaining onion, garlic, 1/2 cup cilantro and epazote or dried oregano, 1 tsp salt and 1 cup of the reserved broth to the bowl. Using an immersion blender (or in a conventional blender, in batches if necessary), purée until smooth.
- Heat oil in a large, heavy pot until almost smoking. Add in tomatillo purée and cook over medium heat until it deepens in color and thickens, about 15 mins.
- Add in ground pepitas and 1 cup of the reserved broth; simmer 5 more minutes. Add in the shredded chicken, drained hominy and 3 cups of reserved broth (you may have leftover broth). Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
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