Sunday's Soup/Fiesta Fun Hominy, Tomatillo and Poblano Soup

There's little I love more than to go to the grocery store and allow what's there to inspire me. I also LOVE hominy. I grew up eating hominy with eggs and as a side dish. However it's given to me, I love it!

On a recent trip to the store, the tomatillos seemed to just jump right out at me. The poblano peppers also looked great, so I decided to try my hand at a little something different. 

Below you see the poblano peppers, fresh cilantro, and tomatillos.

If you've never used tomatillos before, they look like little green tomatoes in a paper thin husk.

I began by roasting the tomatillos and the poblano peppers on the grill. If you decide to give the soup a try, don't skip this part as the roasting gives the soup such a wonderful flavor. Just be sure that the grill is nice and hot before putting the vegetables on the grill.

Roast the tomatillos until they are brown and have softened. Place in a blender and blend well.

The poblano peppers should be roasted until they are really quite black on the outside.

Pull off the blackened skin and pull the seeds out of the peppers. Poblano peppers are not hot, so this is not a hot, spicy soup.

Chop the peppers and put aside.

Add oil to a large soup pot and add the chopped onions. Saute until tender. Add garlic and saute another minute to allow the garlic to release its flavor, but not burn.

Add the blended tomatillos, chopped peppers, and hominy, to the pot along with 4 to 6 cups of vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Add 1 cup of finely chopped cilantro, 1 teaspoon of coriander, 2 teaspoons of cumin, and salt and black pepper to taste. Allow to simmer for approximately 20 to 30 minutes, just giving the spices time to flavor the soup.

The final soup is absolutely delicious, low in calories, and yet the flavor is so robust that you'll feel you've sinned! I have loved every bite!!!

Fiesta Fun Hominy, Tomatillo, and Poblano Soup
printable recipe

ingredients;

12 tomatillos, husks removed
2 poblano peppers
1 bunch of fresh cilantro finely chopped
2 25 oz. cans hominy, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion chopped
2 cloves garlic finely minced
6 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon corinader
 2 teaspoons cumin
salt and black pepper to taste

Place tomatillos and poblano peppers on a hot grill and roast until tomatillos are brown and have softened. Poblano peppers should be blackened.

Place tomatillos in a blender and blend until smooth. Remove blackened skin from peppers and remove the stem and seeds. Chop peppers and sit aside.

Heat oil in a large soup pot. Add onions and saute until tender. Add garlic and saute another minute to release flavor. Add tomatillos,  poblano peppers, hominy and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Begin with 4 cups of broth and add more as the hominy begins to thicken the soup. Add  cilantro, coriander, cumin, salt and black pepper to taste. Simmer for approximately 20 to 30 minutes.

If you would like, top the soup with crumbled chihauhau cheese and chopped green onions. Serve with tortilla chips or a hot pan of corn bread.  

Enjoy! 
Rhonda

Sunday's Soup/Roasted Poblano and Tomatillo Pozole

Earlier this week, I fell down the stairs. Just one of those crazy things, not watching what I was doing, slipped and down I went. I didn't break any bones, but I managed to bang myself up pretty good. As I was falling, I grabbed hold of the railing, broke my fall, but did enough damage to my shoulder that I've had a very difficult time lifting my arm. Although I'm still hurting, I'm doing better, so I'm happy :)
As you all know, I LOVE a good bowl of soup. It just seems to nourish my soul, especially when I'm not feeling my best. I also love Mexican food and anything with a little spice. My husband brought home a roasted poblano pepper soup that he purchased at the grocery store. It was good, but I thought, "I think I can do better." After a little search, I found THIS recipe from Rachel Ray. She calls her soup Poblano Posole. The reviews were rather interesting. a few thought it was far too spicy, and some played with it a bit. I played with it a bit!
Below is a list of ingredients with my changes in red.

2 large or 3 medium poblano peppers, I used 3 peppers


2 ears corn or 1 cup frozen organic corn kernels, I eliminated the corn.

Natural cooking spray, did not use

6 to 8 medium tomatillos, peeled and halved, I used 6 large tomatillos

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 red onion, cut into wedges

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, I used 2 teaspoons

4 cloves garlic

4 cups vegetable stock, I used only 2 cups

1 lime, juiced, did not add during cooking but served on the side

Handful fresh cilantro, chopped

One 28- to 32-ounce can hominy, drained

Two 14.5 oz cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes

Other than the changes that you see in red, I followed the recipe exactly. I loved roasting everything in the oven!
The tomatillos look like baked green apples. When I pureed the tomatillos, I also added the juice that had been expressed while roasting.

The onions and garlic were so aromatic. 

Once everything is pureed, the soup is a beautiful green. 

Then I added the tomatoes and the soup took on a bit of a brown color. 

The finished product. I did not serve the pozole with sliced radishes, just chopped green onions and avocado. If you like, a little shredded chihuahua cheese would make a lovely addition.   
I did not find the recipe to be overly spicy, by any means. In fact, I added little chopped fresh jalpeno to my bowl just to spice it up a bit. 
If you give it a try, I hope it warms your soul as much as it did mine :) You can find the recipe HERE with a nice printable version.
Enjoy! 
Rhonda

Sunday's Soup

I was initially attracted to this soup recipe because of these little guys, tomatillos!! They are a fascinating little vegetable. Although, they may actually be considered a fruit, regardless, they make a lovely addition to many recipes. I especially like making a sauce with them for white fish. Yum!

This recipe was developed by Kalyn, whose story is very interesting. She tells how she lost 42 pounds and became a food blogger here http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2005/04/how-i-lost-42-pounds-and-became-food.html. All of her recipes are seasonal, low glycemic and promote healthy eating, weight loss, and blood sugar control.
If you enjoy an aromatic soup with a bit of a tang, you will enjoy this recipe. The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of lime juice which I did not add. With the tomatillos, I did not want the lime juice, but you may. It's added at the end, so you can make the decision once the soup has cooked. You can find the original recipe here, http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2008/10/crockpot-recipe-for-vegetarian-black.html
This soup is cooked in a crock pot, so it's a make it and let it cook kind of a soup. Oh I love it when things are easy!!! I added an extra 1/2 cup of brown rice which made my soup more of a stew, so it has a thicker consistency and I like that.

Vegetarian Black Bean and Tomatillo Soup
Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
8 tomatillos, chopped in 1/4 inch pieces (about 2 cups chopped tomatillo)
1 T finely minced garlic
1 T dried cilantro (optional, but recommended, available from Penzeys)
2 tsp. dried Mexican Oregano
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 cans (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed well
2 cans (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with juice
4 cups vegetable broth or chicken stock (I used homemade chicken stock, but you could use canned vegetable or chicken broth)
1 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (or a bit less if you don't love lime like I do)
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish if desired

Instructions:

Chop onions and tomatillos into pieces about 1/4 inch. Heat olive oil in large frying pan, then saute onions and tomatillos about 5 minutes, then add garlic, dried cilantro, Mexican Oregano, and cumin and saute 1-2 minutes more. While vegetables saute, dump beans into a colander placed in the sink and rinse until no more foam appears.

Put tomatillo-onion mixture into large 4-5 quart crockpot. (I used a 5 1/2 quart crock pot, but it was not completely full.) Add beans, tomatoes with juice, chicken stock, water, and brown rice. Cook on high for 4 hours (This could also be cooked on low for 8 hours.) Slow cookers can vary, so check and adjust the cooking time accordng to how hot your crockpot gets.)

After 4 hours (or 8 hours if using low) turn the crockpot to low setting, and let it cook 15 minutes to lower the temperature, then add the fresh lime juice and cilantro and cook 10 minutes on low. Serve hot, with additional chopped cilantro for garnish if desired.

I served mine with some shredded white cheddar and Tabasco sauce!! My husband said that he would have enjoyed it a little more served on a bed of rice. Regardless, I really enjoyed this recipe and I think it is a good one to have on file.

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!
Rhonda