White hominy soup with braised pork (pozole rojo de Jalisco)

One of the most popular soups in Mexico, this is made with puffed corn, or hominy, and every state has its own version. Pozole blanco (white pozole) is the basic version, and the dish then evolves according to what ingredients are added. Pozole comes from the Nahuatl (Aztec) word for foam or froth because the dried corn kernels open like a flower and create froth when cooked. This particular style is emblematic of Jalisco. It’s a hearty, yet refreshing soup and is perfect for cooler days.

• serves

  6

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  1:50 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg pork neck, cut into 5 cm pieces
• 6 pigs’ trotters (see Note)
• 1 onion, halved
• 2 garlic cloves
• 10 dried pasilla chillies (see Note)
• 10 dried ancho chillies (see Note)
• 1 kg canned hominy (see Note), drained
• lime wedges, dried oregano, thinly sliced white onion and radishes, and shredded iceberg lettuce, to serve

Instructions

Place pork neck, trotters, onion and garlic in a large saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to a simmer over medium heat, skimming any scum from the surface. Cook for 1½ hours or until meat is tender.

Meanwhile, place the chillies in a large bowl and cover with 2 litres boiling water. Set aside for 1 hour or until soft.

Allow pork to cool completely in the liquid, then remove pork neck and trotters from pan. When cool enough to handle, remove the meat, discarding skin and bones, and set aside. Reserve 250 ml stock and keep remaining stock for another use.

Place hominy in a stockpot over low heat and gently stir to warm through.

Using a stick blender, blend chillies and soaking water with a pinch of salt. Strain through a sieve, pressing down to extract as much chilli as possible.

Add strained chilli mixture, reserved meat and reserved cooking stock to hominy, stirring to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes for flavours to develop.

Serve soup with lime wedges, oregano, onion, radish and lettuce.

Note

• Pigs’ trotters (feet) are available from select butchers. You may need to order them ahead.

• Dried pasilla chillies are long and dark in colour and impart a sweet-chocolate flavour to classic Mexican dishes.

• Dried ancho chillies are dark red, slightly sweet and not very hot. Both are available from Mexican food shops.

• Hominy is available in cans from South and Central American food shops.

Photography by Mark Roper.  

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.