Pozole is great to beat the Winter blues and the freezing cold. It’s a star from the wide Mexican variety of comfort foods, and it’s delicious.
Some people shy away from making pozole at home because traditional recipes take a long time -some, even days. In this recipe, you’ll spend an hour approximately, so it’s a lot simpler and quicker, still packed with all the taste in a proper green pozole.
But you may ask…
What is pozole?
Pozole is a traditional soup or stew from Mexican cuisine with a long history. The word pozole comes from the Nahuatl word “pozolli,” which means “foam” or “froth.” The dish has its origins in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and the Aztecs are thought to have been the first to prepare it.
Most popular recipes come in three different presentations: green, white, and red. I chose green pozole, which is mild and comforting, but all of them are very tasty.
Some regions have authentic recipes for pozole. All versions share common ingredients, such as pork or chicken, hominy corn, and chili peppers. The star ingredient in pozole is hominy or cacahuazintle, a unique type of corn in ancient Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture that was part of the sacred ingredients in Nahuatl and Aztec cuisines.
The soup can be spicy or mild, depending on the chili peppers used and if you remove the seeds of the chiles. It’s usually served with shredded lettuce, diced onion, avocado, lime wedges, and fresh cilantro leaves.
What you need to make green pozole at home
You’ll likely have most of this equipment at home, but I don’t want you to have an unpleasant surprise after you have already started cooking. So have a quick check of the suggested gear to cook this recipe at home:
- Colander
- Kitchen tongs
- Blender or food processor
- Comal (optional)
- Stock pot
- Resealable bag
- Stainless steel fine mesh strainer
In terms of protein, I used chicken, typical for green pozole, one of my favorite ones. I also used Knorr Chicken Flavored Bouillon instead of chicken pieces with bones to make the whole process a lot easier.
However, the ingredient that saves more time and effort is canned hominy because processing and peeling cacahuazintle -I love that word 🤓- is hard work!
Green pozole is brighter and tangier thanks to the delicious combination of tomatillos and roasted chiles.
Are you ready to start?
Find below the recipe with all the ingredients and a detailed step-by-step guide.
Green Pozole with Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tbsps Knorr Chicken Flavored Bouillon
- 3 oz pumpkin seeds (85g; about 1/2 cup)
- 2½ lbs boneless chicken breast
- 1 lb green tomatillos (450g)
- 1 large white onion, medium chopped
- 1 jalapeño chile, roasted/roasted, stem and seeds removed
- 1 poblano chile, roasted/roasted, stem and seeds removed
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 56 oz of canned hominy (white corn), drained and rinsed
- 2 epazote stalks (optional)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 8 cloves of garlic (or a whole head)
To serve your green pozole:
- Shredded chicken (the one you cooked).
- Chopped white onion
- Squash, chopped
- Avocado slices
- Sliced radish
- Shredded iceberg lettuce
Instructions
- Rinse the hominy in a colander until the water is clear and add to the pot. Fill the pot with water and cook on medium heat.
- Add the chicken breasts, Knorr Chicken Bouillon, and put to a boil.
- In the meantime, roast the pumpkin seeds until most of them crack. Then, blister the chiles holding them with kitchen tongs over the stove. The traditional way to do it is using a comal, so use it for this step if you have one. Chiles are ready when all sides are black and blistered. Now, pack them in a resealable bag, and let them sit to get all steamy and soften the skin.
- Once the pot is boiling, put to medium heat for 40 to 45 minutes. Some fat will float on top of the boiling stock. Save a couple of tablespoons of this fatty stock for later use and add more hot water to the pot if needed. It's better to add hot water, so it doesn't slow the cooking process.
- Peel the chiles with a spoon and remove the seeds, unless you prefer your pozole very hot.
- When you have around 15 minutes to cook the stock in the pot, add tomatillos, onion, garlic, and epazote.
- After cooking all the ingredients in the pot, remove the chicken breasts with a pair of kitchen tongs and let them cool to shred them.
- Transfer the onion, tomatillo, and garlic to a bowl using a mesh strainer.
- Now, put in the food processor -or blender- the roasted pumpkin seeds, onion, tomatillos, garlic, chiles, a bunch of cilantro, oregano, and a cup of chicken stock. Process everything until you have a thick green blend.
- Add the fatty broth you saved before and simmer along with the green salsa for five minutes on a hot pan.
- Add the green salsa to the chicken broth in the pot. Then, let cook for 20 minutes. This extra cooking time will put all the flavors from the sauce and broth together.
- Usually, people add shredded lettuce, onions, radish, and shredded chicken on top of the thick soup base. So, you can use these 20 minutes to prepare these toppings. Now, wash the lettuce, the onions, and the cilantro separately and chop each finely. Then, slice the radish and avocados. Put all the toppings at hand so that you can serve your green pozole easily.
- To serve pozole, add the soup first and a handful of shredded chicken in the center. On top of the chicken, place shredded lettuce, chopped onions, a slice of avocado, cilantro, and finish with a few radish slices. And it's ready to eat!
Video
Notes
If you liked this recipe, you might like some of my other recipes too.
And remember, if you try this recipe and want to share your pictures, tag me @lacooquette on Instagram. I’d love to share your photos on my IG stories.
Note: Knorr sponsored the original video for this recipe.
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