Posole Verde
I love posole of all kinds and this is a perfect example of how creative you can get with different flavors. No cilantro? Try basil! No tomatillos? Use more lime juice at the end! Mombacho Café is my go-to spice blend when I want Latin American adobo flavors without the red chile flavor and color. If you use precooked rotisserie chicken, chicken broth, and canned hominy you can whip this up in under 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 bunch of scallions, separate greens and whites and slice everything (about 3/4 cup total)
- 1 whole chicken, about 4 lb
- 5 poblano chiles, stems and seeds removed and split in half
- 3 serrano chiles, stems and seeds removed and split in half
- 1 lb tomatillos, husked and rinsed
- 1 Tbsp Mombacho Café Nicaraguan Blend
- 3 cups cooked hominy
- 2 cups cilantro leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
- Sliced cabbage to garnish
- Lime juice to taste
Directions
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat
- Add onion, garlic and white part of scallion and sauté for about 10 minutes or until tender and beginning to brown
- Add Mombacho Café and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the whole chicken and enough water to cover and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer chicken for about 45 minutes or until the meat begins to get tender.
- While the chicken is simmering, preheat oven to 425F
- Roast tomatillos and chiles until black in parts, about 20-30 minutes.
- Put the chiles in a bowl and cover to steam which will allow the skin to be removed easily.
- While the chiles are steaming, remove chicken from the broth, reserving the broth, and shred the meat from the bones, discard the bones.
- Chop the tomatillos and chiles very fine and add to the broth.
- Reduce the broth by simmering until very flavorful and rich, about 15-20 minutes.
- Season the broth with salt, add 1/2 cup of broth in a blender with cilantro and the green parts of scallions and puree until smooth.
- Add chicken and hominy to the broth and bring to a boil, turn off the heat and add the cilantro scallion puree.
- Season more if needed and serve each bowl with a squeeze of lime and some sliced cabbage or whatever garnishes you prefer.