Posole Rojo with Chicken

Posole is a delicious Mexican soup that uses hominy. Trying to understand what hominy is took up a long discussion at dinner with my husband. What’s the difference between corn and maize? What’s hominy? (Corn and maize are the same thing, hominy is a type of field maize that’s been treated with an alkaline solution to make it more edible.)

Regardless, this is a yummy soup with chicken and hominy and veggies. We served it with tortilla chips, but I’ve heated up leftovers with rice and both are good.

1T oil
1 medium white onion, chopped, plus thin slices to serve
6 medium minced garlic cloves
3T ancho chili powder
2t ground cumin
14.5oz can fire-roasted tomatoes
2qt chicken broth
1.5lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
29oz can hominy, drained and rinsed
0.5c chopped cilantro
3T lime juice, plus wedges to serve
salt
tortilla chips
thinly sliced radishes to serve

In large dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add chopped onions and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ancho powder, and cumin, then cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, until most of the liquid has evaporated, 3-5 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Stir in hominy and chicken, then bring to a simmer. Reduce to medium, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a plate. Cover the pot and reduce to low to keep hot. Dice chicken into bite sized pieces. Stir the chicken back into the pot and cook until heated through, 2-3 minutes. Off heat, stir in cilantro and lime juice. Taste and season with salt. Serve with onions, radishes, lime juice, and tortilla chips.

Recipe from Tuesday Nights by Milk Street.