Posole...My Way

This year I'm making an effort to try new ethnic dishes.  I find that my ethnic cooking classes are the most popular, but after a year of doing them I'm getting a little tired of the same dishes.  They may not be exactly as you order it in a restaurant, but if they make it onto one of my class calendars, I can promise that it'll be delicious, and probably a lot healthier than the restaurant version.
My first experiment this year is Posole, a traditional Mexican soup/stew.  It is usually made with pork, but I decided to make a vegetarian version.  In order to get my serving of protein, I added black beans and brown rice to the recipe.  The bean-rice combo gives you all the essential amino acids normally found in animal protein, and something to keep in mind is that you don't need to eat them together in one meal.  You can get the same benefit from eating rice and beans separately in a 24 hour period.

I started by roasting a pasilla pepper on the gas burner.  If you don't have a gas stove top, you can roast peppers under the broiler, turning to blacken all sides.

After the pepper is peeled and seeded, I added it to a blender (or food processor) with tomatillos, a couple jalapeno peppers, chopped onions, garlic, cilantro, baby spinach or kale leaves (sneak in extra nutrition whenever you can!), cumin, coriander, chili powder, Mexican oregano (regular oregano is OK, if it's all you have), and a couple cups veg broth.

It's looking pretty already... and we know how I love pretty food!

Next, rinse and drain 2 cans hominy and 2 cans black beans.  Canned beans and vegetables are full of sodium, so be sure to always give them a good rinse.  Hominy can be found in most grocery stores with the canned vegetables.  It's simply corn that has had the bran and germ removed.  Normally I'm against that concept; that's how we turn healthy whole grains into much less healthy white rice or "enriched" pasta, but I give hominy a pass.  In the summer, however, when fresh, local corn is in season, I would substitute that and add garbanzo beans for texture.

Put the hominy and beans in a large pot with 4 more cups veg broth and the green pepper mixture.

Simmer for 30 minutes and add 1 cup cooked short-grain brown rice.  Continue to simmer for 10-15 more minutes.  When ready to serve, add the juice of one lime, ladle into bowls and top with a bit of pepper jack cheese.  It's got a bit of a kick to it, so reduce or omit the jalapeno peppers if you're not a spicy girl like me.  This recipe will make 8 servings (even if I'm eating it!), and just gets better and better each day....if you can make it that long without eating it all!

Vegetarian Posole
Serves 8

1 pasilla pepper
1/2 pound tomatillos, husks removed and cleaned
2 cups baby spinach or kale leaves (stems removed if using regular kale)
1 cup chopped onion
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
1 bunch cilantro, stems removed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
6 cups Trader Joe's low sodium vegetable broth, divided
2 15-oz. cans hominy, rinsed and drained
2 15-oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups cooked short grain brown rice
Juice of one lime
Salt & pepper to taste
1/3 cup shredded pepper jack cheese, optional

• Roast pasilla pepper over a gas burner (or under the broiler), turning until all sides are blackened. Place in a bowl and cover for 15 minutes.  When cool enough to handle, peel skin, remove seeds and chop.
• Add to a blender (or food processor) along with tomatillos, spinach or kale leaves, onion, jalapenos, garlic, cilantro, spices and 2 cups of broth.  Process until smooth.
• Pour mixture into a large pot and add hominy, black beans, and remaining 4 cups broth.
• Simmer for 30 minutes and add rice.  Continue simmering for 10-15 minutes more.
• Add lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon each should work)
• Ladle into bowls and top with pepper jack cheese, if desired.