Posole In Broth

1 lb / 2 1/2 cups dried posole / hominy
1 medium white or yellow onion
4 cups great-tasting broth (see head note)
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
2 cups / 12 ounces cooked mung beans, optional** (I used cooked dry soy beans)
1 bunch of scallions, trimmed and shredded
To serve: chopped olives, sliced avocado, sprouts or micro greens, toasted sliced almonds, and/or a drizzle of olive or lemon oil.

Calorie contents DOES INCLUDE:
1C sliced almonds (2T per serving)
1 can whole olives = 1C chopped (2T per serving)
1 whole avocado (1/8 avocado per serving)

Calorie count DOES NOT include:
oil to drizzle
micro greens/sprouts

It's important you use great tasting broth as the base here. I did a blend of the corn broth from cooking the posole supplemented with water (to get 5 cups), a bit of bouillon, and salt to taste. Just make sure it tastes like something you'd like a bowl of before moving forward with the recipe. I always cook my hominy/posole from dried kernels, I suspect you could substitute drained canned hominy, but truth-be-told, I've never tried it. A few other notes, this makes a big pot, and leftovers are great for days. Also(!) I forgot to add the scallions to my bowl before I shot the photo - apologies!

Directions from 101cookbooks.com.

To cook the posole kernels, rinse and pick over the kernels, cover with water and let soak for at least six hours, or overnight. Drain, place in a large pot with the onion, halved and peeled, and cover with a few inches of water. Bring to a boil, and cook for about an hour, or until a good percentage of the kernels blossom. Drain, reserving the broth and onion, and set aside. If you're making this ahead of time, both the broth and the cooked posole kernels (drained) freeze well.

When you're ready to make the posole, slice the reserved onion, and add it to a large pot along with the posole kernels, and roughly 4 cups of broth - enough to just cover the kernels (add water if necessary). Add the chile and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Gently stir in the mung beans, and scallions.

To serve, ladle into shallow bowls and add as many toppings as you can handle. Don't skimp, really(!) they're what make this version of posole really come together. Avocado, almonds, and chopped olives are important - so if you're going to choose just a few, those are my recommendation. The creamy fattiness from the avocado with the starchy posole, the punch of olive brininess, and crunch from the almonds really work nicely.

Serves 6-8.


Serving Size: Makes 8 servings.
Each Serving = 1C soup, 2T almonds, 2T chopped olives, 2T chopped avocado