Chicken Pozole Rojo

Spring is finally here! Well, it has been here technically but for the weather this past weekend made it feel like spring. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend - did you enjoy any deliciousness? Now that the temperatures have been in the upper 50s/lower 60s, the rain we're having has put a damper on being outdoors. When it's rainy out, I love a good bowl of soup and recently, I made this Chicken Pozole Rojo. It's a delicious soup full of chicken, hominy, poblano peppers in a rich and flavorful chile broth that's perfect for rainy days...

Pozole is a common Mexican soup or stew made with hominy, which are dried maize kernels - they look like giant corn kernels. These kernels have soaked in an alkali solution {lye} which causes it to puff up and double in size. They are naturally gluten free and are essential in pozole recipes. You can find hominy in the grocery store by the canned beans section or any Latin or Mexican market. {Goya is the brand I prefer.} This one is a red or 'rojo' version due to the dried chile powder used. Think of it like a chicken tortilla soup with puffy corn mixed in - yum! I especially liked how filling and flavorful it is and we enjoyed this with !ueso Chihuahua cheese quesadillas...

Chicken Pozole Rojo
recipe from My Recipes

• 3 large poblano chiles (1 lb. total)6 garlic cloves1 large onion
  2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) white hominy, rinsed & drained1 1/2 pounds boned, skinned chicken thighs
  1/2 teaspoon kosher salt2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano*, divided2 tablespoons olive oil3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth3 tablespoons ground red New Mexico chiles*Garnishes: sliced avocado, lime wedges, cilantro sprigs, and sour cream
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• Preheat broiler. When hot, broil poblanos on a baking sheet until blackened, turning as needed, about 15 minutes.
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  Meanwhile, in a food processor, whirl garlic to mince. Cut onion in chunks and pulse with garlic until chopped; set aside. Drain hominy; set aside.
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  Cut chicken into 1- to 1 1/2-in. chunks and sprinkle with salt and 1 tsp. oregano. Heat oil in a 5- to 6-qt. pan over high heat. Brown half the chicken lightly, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer meat to a plate. Repeat with remaining chicken.
  
• Reduce heat to medium-high. Add onion mixture and remaining 1 tsp. oregano to pan and sauté until onion is softened, 3 minutes. Meanwhile, in a microwave-safe bowl, microwave broth until steaming, about 3 minutes. Add ground chiles to pan and cook, stirring, about 30 seconds.
  Add broth, hominy, and chicken to pan. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer to blend flavors, 10 minutes.
  Remove stems, skins, and seeds from poblanos and discard; chop poblanos. Stir poblanos into posole and cook 1 minute. Ladle into bowls; top with garnishes.