Saturday Soup 5

Two years ago, my husband, daughter and I visited Santa Fe, New Mexico. We also took a day trip to Taos. Even though our trip was in the late winter, the New Mexico scenery is lovely, reminding me of southern Africa.

As I was thinking about which soup to select for this week, I decided on a soup from New Mexico.

This recipe came to our church’s Bistro via our pastor’s wife. She had seen it in a Santa Fe newspaper. She suggests that you may make this dish up to 3 days ahead, cool, cover, and chill. It thickens, so thin with more broth or water when reheating.

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NEW MEXICAN POSOLE
Serves 12

3 cans hominy (Bush's is best), rinsed and drained
1-1/4 lbs. Boned, trimmed, pork shoulder (butt) or shoulder end of pork loin
4 cups chopped onions
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 large can (or 6 cups) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup canned red enchilada sauce
1/3 cup chopped roasted green chilies or canned green chilies
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Salt to taste

Cut meat into bite-size cubes. In a 5-6 quart pan, combine pork, onions, garlic, oregano, and 1/2 cup broth. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium and boil 20 minutes. Uncover and cook over high heat, stirring often, until juices evaporate and meat is sizzling in browned drippings, 15 to20 minutes.

Add remaining broth, 4 cups water, and drained hominy; stir drippings free. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until pork is almost tender to bite, about 1-1/2hours; stir occasionally.
Add 1/2 cup red enchilada sauce, 1/3 cup chilies and ground pepper. Simmer, covered, until pork and hominy are very tender to bite, 15 to 30 minutes longer. Add salt, remaining enchilada sauce and chilies to taste, if desired.

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And for the photo feature, a few selections from our Santa Fe trip.

The inn where we stayed.

The oldest church in the U.S.

The Rio Grande in New Mexico!