Marcus Shares His New Year's Pozole Recipe!

If you've never had pozole, you're missing out. This is a traditional Mexican stew that is simmered and steeped in love. This particular recipe is a combo of my Abuela's family recipe plus a couple of tips from Bon Appetit Magazine that I loved. The origins lay with the ancient Aztecs who would normally simmer the hearts of their enemies into a tasty broth. I'm not quite that aggressive so I like to sub in pork or, in this case, chicken. It's the perfect hangover cure(which is why we like to serve it on New Year's Day) and is typically a recipe that is passed on through generations. It's also very regional. There is white pozole, red pozole, and the pozole recipe from my family(we are from Acapulco) green pozole. See how I "made the flag" there? I LOVE green pozole because it uses green chilis and tomatillos which bring quite a bit of brightness and spice to the dish. Keep in mind that I made my recipe for little kids(my daughter is five) so it's not spicy at all. You can add spice after-the-fact with your favorite hot sauce or just leave some seeds in your chilis. You'll feel it. Got a lot of familia coming over? Double the recipe. Serve hot with the garnishes and enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp dried epazote (you can sub oregano, preferably Mexican)

1 whole chicken

1.5 pounds tomatillos, husked and rinsed

6 poblano chilis, deveined, deseeded and cut in half

3 jalapenos, deveined, deseeded and cut in half (leave seeds in if you want some heat)

4 15oz cans of hominy

2 cups cilantro(stems ok) plus more for serving

To serve (place each in a separate container for the table):

1 small red onion, finely diced

2 tbsp oregano

1/4 of a cabbage, thinly sliced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

sardines in tomato sauce (avail at Mexican mercados)

tortilla chips

lime wedges

Directions:

1. Add olive oil to large stock pot (8 quart minimum). Saute onions and garlic on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add coriander, cumin and epazote and cook for 1-2 more minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 425
3. Add chicken to stockpot whole along with 12 cups of water bring to a boil and then simmer for about an hour skimming the top of the liquid for foam. When the chicken is done cooking (the leg and thigh should pull apart from the body nicely), pull it and let it cool on a slotted cutting board. Take skin off chicken and pull meat apart into bite-sized pieces. Set aside in a bowl.
4. While chicken is cooking and subsequently cooling, spread all chilis and tomatillos on a sheet pan and roast in the oven for about 30-45 mins. You want to cook them till they get a little color/char on them. Pull and let cool till they can be handled. Set the baking sheet aside for later and leave the oven on.
5. Open and rinse one of the cans of hominy in a colander. Puree chilis and tomatillos with the hominy until smooth and add to the broth you cooked the chicken in and bring back to a simmer.
6. Rinse the other 3 cans of hominy , dry with a paper towel and spread in a single layer on the reserved baking sheet. Roast hominy, tossing once until its just brown around the edges(about 20 minutes). Scrape into the pot with the broth.
7. Let pot simmer on low for 30-45 mins and then pour about 1/2 broth into a blender and add the 2 cups of cilantro. Puree till smooth(PLEASE crack the lid and use a towel as the hot liquid might cause a mess). Add liquid back to pot. Add chicken pieces to pot and warm through. Serve with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!