Reader's pozole recipe with nopales adds new trail to my food journey
Food writing sometimes is about more than putting a meal on the table.
Capturing the stories behind the dish – its connection to a place and people – is also appealing.
That place can be your grandmother's kitchen learning to bake biscuits, or a far-away region known for a key ingredient or cooking style.
Given my appreciation for the connective power of food, one of my favorite parts of this column is reader feedback. They often recount a personal tie to a dish I featured.
They sometimes also share a recipe. I love trying people's favorite foods.
Such was the case with an email recently from Michael Collins-Frias of Escondido, California. He doesn't cook, but he enjoys eating 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 known as pozole (or posole). I learned about pozole living in Lubbock more than 20 years ago, a Texas Panhandle city only 75 miles east of the the New Mexico border were the dish is a staple.
The version I knew called for freshly roasted green chili peppers popular in that state. The emailed recipe uses an enchiladas sauce made from dried red chilis.
But, there was one ingredient in the Collins-Frias recipe new to me: nopales, or prickly pear cactus.
The young pads are edible, once the thorns have been removed. Processed cactus cut into strips or cubes can be found in jars in the Mexican ingredients section of some grocery stores.
Fresh pads or processed, diced cactus, sometimes called nopalitos, also can be found in the produce section, such as I recently discovered at HEB. That is a welcome convenience for someone not versed in how to prep the thorny pads.
When sautéed initially, the nopalitos release a gelatinous liquid that will tighten as the cooking continues. The slime reminded me of what I see with sautéed okra.
Nopalitos flavor the stew with a hint of lemon tartness, a nice brightness to counterbalance the chili heat.
Measurements and directions in the original pozole recipe were not exact. But, that just made it seem more personal, like my mom's handwritten recipes that are more like suggestions than precise instructions.
More: Here's how to the make the most of yellow squash and zucchini
As I made the pozole based on the recipe notes plus my past experiences, I took notes to fill in the gaps on the ingredient amounts and process. The recipe is below. Feel free to play with it as well.
For the red chili sauce, I loosely followed the directions for enchiladas sauce on the bag of Bolner's Fiesta Brand New Mexico chilis. I also tossed in some chili cascabel pods (also called guajillo peppers). For extra heat, I could have finished the stew with a finely chopped chili de arbol.
Another liberality was using Mexican oregano, which has some floral notes and does vary from the Italian variety.
The pozole was spicy, hearty and satisfying. With rising food costs, the stew also is a filling way to stretch out the servings of a lower-end cut of pork without feeling shortchanged.
I imagine my bowl of stew was different in noticeable ways than what is served by the California readers who shared the recipe. Since I can't try their dish firsthand, though, this long-distance shared experience was the next best thing.
Share your favorite recipes or food-related historical recollections by emailing Laura Gutschke at laura.gutschke@reporternews.com.
Pozole (or Posole) with Nopales
Ingredients
3 dried New Mexico chilis
3 dried cascabel chilis (also called guajillo peppers)
1 cup fresh nopales, diced (also called nopalitos)
1 large white onion, diced
1-2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 1/2- to 3-pounds of pork shoulder, roast or other inexpensive cut, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch cubes
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-2 teaspoons salt
1/2-1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 quart chicken stock
1 (15.5-ounce) can white hominy, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon ground Mexican oregano
Optional: 1 chili de arbol pod, about 1-2 cups thinly sliced green cabbage, 4-5 thinly sliced radishes and 1-2 limes, cut into eighths
Directions
1. To make the chili sauce, remove the stems and seeds from the pepper pods. Place in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes. Drain the peppers. (The liquid can be reserved and used in place of or in addition to the chicken stock, but I prefer the latter that I make from scratch and keep in the freezer.) Grind the reconstituted peppers in a food processor or blender until pureed. For a smoother paste, run the mixture through a chinois, discarding any remaining pulp. Set aside the puree, which should measure about 1 cup.
2. In a large stockpot, heat the oil over a medium-high heat. Add the nopales and onion. Sauté for about 6-8 minutes until the onion is softened and some of the gelatinous liquid from the nopales evaporates. If necessary, lower the heat to prevent burning.
3. Add the pork and sauté about 4-5 minutes, until the meat is starting to brown. Drain off the fat. Add the flour, chili puree, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and granulated garlic. Sauté for about 6-8 minutes, or until the pork is browned.
4. Add the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer. Cover with a lid and cook the stew for about an hour, until the meat is fork tender.
5. Stir in the hominy and Mexican oregano. Taste and adjust seasonings. For more heat, add all or part of the optional chili de arbol, seeds and stem removed and finely chopped. Cook for about 10 minutes, until heated through.
6. Serve immediately in bowls. The optional cabbage, radishes and lime can be served on the side and added to the top of the stew. Yields about 8-10 servings.
More: Baked smashed potatoes a crispy comfort food without deep frying
Laura Gutschke is a general assignment reporter and food columnist and manages online content for the Reporter-News. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Reader's pozole recipe features dried red chilis, prickly pear cactus
