Reader’s pozole recipe with nopales adds new trail to my food journey

Foods creating often is about extra than putting a food on the desk.

Capturing the tales guiding the dish – its link to a location and people – is also desirable.

That place can be your grandmother’s kitchen learning to bake biscuits, or a considerably-away location recognized for a important ingredient or cooking style.

Specified my appreciation for the connective power of foodstuff, just one of my favorite parts of this column is reader feedback. They often recount a particular tie to a dish I showcased.

They often also share a recipe. I enjoy striving people’s preferred foods.

These types of was the case with an email just lately from Michael Collins-Frias of Escondido, California. He will not cook dinner, but he enjoys consuming the kitchen creations of his spouse, Steven Frias, who is of Native American heritage.

Collins-Frias described how to make a pork-and-hominy stew regarded as pozole (or posole). I discovered about pozole residing in Lubbock a lot more than 20 several years back, a Texas Panhandle city only 75 miles east of the the New Mexico border were being the dish is a staple.

The model I realized identified as for freshly roasted eco-friendly chili peppers common in that condition. The emailed recipe uses an enchiladas sauce made from dried purple chilis.

But, there was a person component in the Collins-Frias recipe new to me: nopales, or prickly pear cactus.

The younger pads are edible, as soon as the thorns have been eliminated. Processed cactus cut into strips or cubes can be discovered in jars in the Mexican substances section of some grocery shops.

Fresh pads or processed, diced cactus, at times called nopalitos, also can be discovered in the create portion, these kinds of as I a short while ago found out at HEB. That is a welcome comfort for anyone not versed in how to prep the thorny pads.

When sautéed initially, the nopalitos release a gelatinous liquid that will tighten as the cooking carries on. The slime reminded me of what I see with sautéed okra.

Nopalitos flavor the stew with a trace of lemon tartness, a nice brightness to counterbalance the chili heat.

Story proceeds

Measurements and instructions in the authentic pozole recipe were being not exact. But, that just made it seem far more private, like my mom’s handwritten recipes that are a lot more like suggestions than specific guidelines.

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As I built the pozole based on the recipe notes in addition my earlier encounters, I took notes to fill in the gaps on the ingredient amounts and course of action. The recipe is down below. Really feel absolutely free to participate in with it as very well.

For the purple chili sauce, I loosely followed the instructions for enchiladas sauce on the bag of Bolner’s Fiesta Manufacturer New Mexico chilis. I also tossed in some chili cascabel pods (also known as guajillo peppers). For more warmth, I could have completed the stew with a finely chopped chili de arbol.

A different liberality was using Mexican oregano, which has some floral notes and does vary from the Italian range.

The pozole was spicy, hearty and fulfilling. With climbing food items expenditures, the stew also is a filling way to extend out the servings of a decrease-close slash of pork without having experience shortchanged.

I think about my bowl of stew was various in apparent techniques than what is served by the California readers who shared the recipe. Given that I won’t be able to try out their dish firsthand, although, this extensive-distance shared working experience was the upcoming ideal matter.

Share your beloved recipes or foods-relevant historic recollections by emailing Laura Gutschke at [email protected].

Pozole (or Posole) with Nopales

Ingredients

3 dried New Mexico chilis

3 dried cascabel chilis (also called guajillo peppers)

1 cup new nopales, diced (also called nopalitos)

1 huge white onion, diced

1-2 tablespoons cooking oil

2 1/2- to 3-kilos of pork shoulder, roast or other cheap slice, minimize into 1- to 1 1/2-inch cubes

3 tablespoons all-objective flour

1-2 teaspoons salt

1/2-1 teaspoon freshly floor black pepper

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 quart chicken inventory

1 (15.5-ounce) can white hominy, drained and rinsed

1/2 teaspoon floor Mexican oregano

Optional: 1 chili de arbol pod, about 1-2 cups thinly sliced inexperienced cabbage, 4-5 thinly sliced radishes and 1-2 limes, lower into eighths

Instructions

1. To make the chili sauce, remove the stems and seeds from the pepper pods. Position in a pot and protect with h2o. Bring to a boil about medium-significant warmth, then simmer for 15 minutes. Take out from warmth and let great for 30 minutes. Drain the peppers. (The liquid can be reserved and employed in put of or in addition to the rooster stock, but I prefer the latter that I make from scratch and retain in the freezer.) Grind the reconstituted peppers in a meals processor or blender until finally pureed. For a smoother paste, run the mixture through a chinois, discarding any remaining pulp. Set apart the puree, which must evaluate about 1 cup.

2. In a massive stockpot, warmth the oil over a medium-large heat. Increase the nopales and onion. Sauté for about 6-8 minutes till the onion is softened and some of the gelatinous liquid from the nopales evaporates. If required, decrease the heat to stop burning. 

3. Increase the pork and sauté about 4-5 minutes, till the meat is c
ommencing to brown. Drain off the body fat. Increase the flour, chili puree, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and granulated garlic. Sauté for about 6-8 minutes, or right until the pork is browned. 

4. Insert the hen inventory and carry the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer. Include with a lid and cook the stew for about an hour, until eventually the meat is fork tender. 

5. Stir in the hominy and Mexican oregano. Style and modify seasonings. For extra warmth, incorporate all or element of the optional chili de arbol, seeds and stem eliminated and finely chopped. Cook for about 10 minutes, till heated via. 

6. Provide promptly in bowls. The optional cabbage, radishes and lime can be served on the side and added to the top rated of the stew. Yields about 8-10 servings. 

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Laura Gutschke is a standard assignment reporter and foodstuff columnist and manages on line material for the Reporter-Information.  If you appreciate locally pushed news, you can assistance area journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com. 

This report originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Reader’s pozole recipe features dried crimson chilis, prickly pear cactus