Pozole Pork Hominy Soup

I feel a bit of urgency to get this post published so I’ll make it quick. I know it’s still spring in most of the country, but around here, it’s starting to heat up. Now, I’m a person who can eat soup any time of year, but I know a lot of people who consider it the kind of comfort food reserved for cooler days. So before you jump both feet into summer salads, there is this quick pozole, or pork hominy soup, that you should definitely try. 

One thing we’ve been eating a lot more of in recent months is pozole, the traditional Mexican soup or stew made of pork, hominy and chiles. I’ll admit I knew little to nothing about it, until my husband started buying it from a coworker who also runs a small food service business. It became an easy dinner on some of our busier nights after our move to the Central Valley. 

I have always been a big fan of hominy and come to think of it, I’m pretty sure I’ve made some pozole-like things in the past without realizing they were so similar. But this recipe was inspired by my most recent encounters with the delicious dish. 

What I have here is not a traditional version. This is the Lori version where I made a list of all the things I might include and combined them in a soup pot for a quick dinner. It’s filling and comforting, but fortunately for this time of year, it isn’t overly heavy. (I think that may be the beauty of  fresh lime juice. You can squeeze that stuff over anything and it instantly makes it refreshing.)

It’s also a simple pantry meal. You can keep the ingredients on hand, thaw out some pork and dinner is good to go in the time it would take you to go get take-out. 

Reserve it for a rainy day or stir up a pot before the temperatures spike. Or if you are like me, plan to make it all summer long. 

What you’ll need:

1/2 lb. ground pork
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons chili powder*
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
4 cups unsalted chicken stock
14.5 oz. can no-salt-added petite diced tomatoes
4.5 oz. can diced green chiles
25 oz. can white hominy, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons fine ground sea salt
Lime wedges and chopped fresh cilantro for serving

How to make it:

In a small skillet, cook the ground pork over medium-high heat until no longer pink, about 8 to 10 minutes. Use a fork or potato masher to break it into small crumbles as it cooks. 

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Stir in the chili powder, coriander, cumin and smoked paprika. Cook for one more minute. 

Add the chicken stock to the soup pot. Next stir in the tomatoes, and chiles. Bring the soup to a low boil and then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Transfer the cooked pork from the skillet to the soup pot. Stir in the hominy and the salt. Simmer, partially covered, for 5 minutes. 

Garnish with a squeeze of lime juice and chopped cilantro before serving. 

*I like to use a combination of chili powders in this soup to add rich flavor and heat, but not too much heat. This time I used an ancho chile powder and a hot chili powder.