This comforting chicken pozole verde gets much of its flavor from aromatic and spicy ingredients like tomatillos, cilantro, and green chiles.
Ingredients
- 7 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
- 2 cups water
- 4 chicken breast halves on the bone, with skin
- 1 pound tomatillos, husked and halved
- 1 small onion, quartered
- 2 poblano chiles, cored, seeded, and quartered
- 2 jalapeños, seeded and quartered
- 4 large garlic cloves, smashed
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon oregano leaves
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 (15-ounce) cans of hominy, drained
- Finely shredded iceberg lettuce, sliced radishes, chopped onion, diced avocado, sour cream, tortilla chips, and lime wedges, for serving
- Radishes
- onion
- Diced avocado
- Sour cream
- tortilla chips
- lime wedges
Instructions
- 1Gather the ingredients.
- 2In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, bring the chicken stock and water to a boil.
- 3Add the chicken breasts skin side down, cover, and simmer over very low heat until they're tender and cooked through, about 25 minutes.
- 4Skim and discard any fat from the cooking liquid and set the liquid aside.
- 5Transfer the chicken breasts to a cutting board or plate and, once cool enough to handle, shred the meat; discard the bones and skin.
- 6In a blender, combine the halved tomatillos with the quartered onion, poblanos and jalapeños, smashed garlic, chopped cilantro, and oregano. Pulse until coarsely chopped, scraping down the sides.
- 7With the machine on, add 1 cup of the cooking liquid and puree until smooth. Season the tomatillo puree with salt and pepper.
- 8In a large, deep skillet, heat the vegetable oil until shimmering. Add the tomatillo puree and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce turns a deep green, about 12 minutes.
- 9Pour the green sauce into the cooking liquid in the casserole. Add the hominy and bring to a simmer over moderate heat. Add the shredded chicken to the stew, season with salt and pepper, and cook just until heated through.
- 10Serve the pozole in deep bowls, passing the lettuce, radishes, onion, avocado, sour cream, tortilla chips, and lime wedges at the table.