Vegan Posole

While living in Albuquerque, there were 2 things I could always count on during the holidays…..Tamales and Posole.  So in order to continue enjoying one of MY favorite holiday recipes, I created this version of New Mexican Vegan Posole.

Posole is a very traditional Mexican Soup made from hominy and pork and usually comes in two versions:

• Posole Verde (green) or
• Posole Rojo (red)
• (posole is sometimes spelled pozole)

Since I am a huge fan of New Mexican Red Chiles, I made this vegan version of Posole Rojo.

I can still remember visiting friends on Christmas Eve, and walking into their kitchen to the smells of freshly made Tamales and huge pots of Posole.

If you’ve never been to Albuquerque or Santa Fe around Christmas – it’s truly magical, and definitely something to add to your bucket list.

Imagine a clear, crisp night, lit up by hundreds of little paper lanterns (farolitos) as you settle down to a nice, hot bowl of freshly made Posole.

Good times, dear friends, and wonderful memories.

This recipe requires 3 main ingredients, all of which should be easy to find at your nearest grocery store or on Amazon.

• Hominy (two 25oz cans)
• Portobello Mushrooms (you could also use Soy Curls or Jackfruit)
• New Mexican Red Chile Pods
  • Usually located in the Mexican Food Aisle. You could also use California Chile Pods or even Guajillo Chile Pods. This is where I find the little bags of Mexican Oregano too.

And while it does take a bit of time and effort – I love this stew …..so to me, it’s definitely worth it.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

 

New Mexican Vegan Posole

The Chile

We’ll start by preparing our Chile (prounounced chee-lay).

Heat your oven to 250 degrees F and spread about 10 New Mexican Chile Pods on a cookie sheet. I also added 2-3 Chile de Arbol Chile Pods for some additional heat – but these are totally optional and ARE spicy.

They are already dried, so the idea behind roasting them is to intensify the flavor a little.

Roast the chiles for about 20 minutes then remove from the oven and let cool.

To clean the chiles, snip on the stem and dump out any seeds. I also snip the chile down the middle and try to remove the ribs or membranes as well as any rogue seeds. The seeds and the membranes are what make the chiles hot.

Once all your chiles are cleaned, add them to a large pot with enough cold water to cover them and bring to a boil.  Once it comes to a simmer, cover and turn off the heat to let them steep for about 10 minutes.

The chiles will become puffed up and very soft.  Perfect.

Use tongs (or a slotted spoon) to remove the softened chiles, onion, and garlic and place them in your blender, saving the water as we’ll need about 1 cups to use for blending.  

Some people don’t like using the chile water as it can be a bit bitter.  Easy –  just use fresh water instead. Some also like to strain the chile through a fine sieve – I don’t but you can if you want.

To your blender full of chiles, add 1 cup of water (use the chile water or fresh), 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano, 1/4 tsp cumin, and ¼ tsp salt.

Now with your hand securely holding the top of the blender, blend on high until smooth.

Note:  Hot chiles and water will create a lot of pressure inside your blender.  Make sure you initially hold that lid on tightly, so we don’t have any explosive accidents.  

Note:  Something else to note here….Red Chile stains.  Clean up spills immediately and you’ll be fine.  Also – speaking from experience….. I really don’t recommend wearing anything white.  

Now that the chile is made, let’s move on to the Posole, but first….

WASH YOUR HANDS! Chiles contain an oil that WILL burn your eyes if you touch them!

The Posole

Clean and slice 16oz of fresh Portobello Mushrooms and add to a large dutch oven or soup pan.

Traditionally, Posole is made with pork, but to make this Vegan I used Mushrooms. You could also use Soy Curls or Jackfruit.

Saute the mushrooms until they begin to soften, then add 2 Tbs Low Sodium Soy Sauce and 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika. Stir to mix and then add the remaining 3/4 onion that has been diced and 3 cloves of minced garlic.

Next, we’ll add 32oz (a 1qt carton) of Low Sodium Vegetable Broth, 2 cups of Water, 2 Bay Leaves, 2 tsp Mexican Oregano, and 1 1/2 tsp Cumin. Stir well.

Drain and rinse 2 cans of White Hominy (25oz ea) and add to the soup. Then add 2 diced Yukon Gold Potatoes and the Red Chile Sauce and stir well to combine.

Bring to a simmer and then cover and reduce the heat. Allow to simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Garnish ideas: Chopped cabbage, sliced radish, cilantro, tomatoes, diced green onions.

Serve with corn tortillas for an authentic New Mexican meal.

As always, love those comments so be sure and let me know if you make this and how it went.

And if I don’t talk to you before the Holidays…….

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from BNV!

 

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