Quick and Easy Green Chicken Posole
Green Chicken Pozole is a weeknight soup revelation! If you have never tried pozole, make it right away so you aren't missing out. It's so different, and so good! Tender chicken and hominy come together with a gently spicy broth, flavored with pureed peppers and cilantro. We are taking a few shortcuts to make this pozole verde a weeknight dinner hero that still brings all the flavor!
Servings: 8
Calories: 205kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large white onion chopped
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt use only 1 and 1/2 teaspoons table salt
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 4 cloves garlic smashed and minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- 2 poblano peppers seeded and roughly chopped (sometimes called Pasilla peppers*)
- 1 jalapeno pepper seeded and roughly chopped
- 12 ounces tomatillos about 10-12 small/medium tomatillos
- 1 cup cilantro about 1 small bunch
- 1/2 cup water for the blender
- 2 teaspoons oil for sauteing green sauce
- 1 (28-ounce) can hominy
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 3 cups cooked chicken shredded or chopped
To Garnish:
- 1 10-ounce package angel hair coleslaw or slice your own green cabbage
- 6 radishes very thinly sliced
- 1/4 white onion chopped (optional)
- 1 avocado
- sour cream
- fresh lime wedges
- tortilla chips
- queso fresco or any shredded cheese
Instructions
- Heat a large (6-quart) soup pot over medium heat.
- Chop 1 white onion. (Here's a handy onion chopping guide!)
- When the pot is nice and hot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil. It should shimmer right away. Add the onions immediately and stir with a wooden spoon. Let the onions saute for about 5 minutes.
- During the 5 minutes, add in the spices: 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 2 teaspoons cumin, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon chili powder, and 1 tablespoon oregano.
- Smash and mince 4-5 cloves of garlic, enough to make about a tablespoon. Add it to the pot with onions. Add another teaspoon or two of olive oil if the pot is looking dry (if the onions are sticking.) Saute the garlic and onions for 1 minute. Turn off the burner and remove from heat.
- Chop the poblano: Remove the stems of 2 poblano peppers. Slice the peppers in half and discard the seeds and membranes. Roughly chop the pepper.
- Prepare 1 jalapeno: remove the stem, seeds and membranes.
- Add the poblano and jalapeno peppers to a blender.
- Peel and wash 10-12 tomatillos (see note for using canned tomatillos!) Cut each tomatillo in half. Add to the blender.
- Wash 1 bunch of cilantro. Use a chef's knife to cut the stems off. Add the leaves to the blender. (You need about 1 cup cilantro)
- Add 1/2 cup water to the blender. Puree for about 30 seconds until mostly smooth.
- Move the pot with the onions back onto the burner and set the heat to medium. Use a spoon to shove the onions to the edges of the pan.
- Add 2 teaspoon oil to the center of the pot and let it get hot for a minute. Then pour all the green liquid from the blender into the hot oil.
- Stir it all together and let the green liquid simmer, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium low or low, if it starts to pop hot liquid at you.
- Add the 28 ounce can of hominy (don't drain it, add all the can liquid to the soup.)
- Add 4 cups of chicken broth*, and 3 cups of chopped cooked chicken.**
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat. As soon as it boils, turn the heat down to medium low and let simmer for about 10 minutes, or up to an hour, whatever you have time for!
- Prepare the garnishes. The toppings for this soup are not optional. They are part of what make the soup pozole, especially the cabbage and radishes. Open the bag of angel hair coleslaw and place in a bowl. Slice the radishes paper-thin. Chop 1/4 of a white onion. Chop 1-2 avocados. Slice a few limes into quarters, for easy squeezing.
- Serve with garnishes. Ladle the soup into bowls, and top each one with plenty of garnishes: A handful of sliced cabbage, several slices of radish, a sprinkle of white raw onions, avocado (or a scoop of guacamole), a scoop of sour cream, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, a few crumbled tortilla chips, and a sprinkle of queso fresco cheese.
- Storage: Store leftovers in the fridge. Keep all garishes separate.
- Freezing: Wait for the pozole to completely cool, then carefully ladle it into a ziplock freezer bag. Try to get as much air out of the bag as possible, and seal. You can put it straight into the freezer, where it will be good for about 3-4 months. The toppings that go with pozole (cabbage, radishes, lime, cilantro, onion) should not be frozen. The quality will not be the same, it’s definitely best to prepare those fresh when you serve again.
Notes
Poblano peppers: Sometimes these are labeled as pasilla peppers. Pasilla is also the name of a dried pepper, but that's not what you want. You are looking for a very dark, forest-green fresh pepper from the produce section.
*CHICKEN BROTH: I always use water + Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base. So for this recipe, I used 4 cups of water and 4 teaspoons chicken base.
**CHICKEN: If you don't have cooked chicken, you can use raw chicken! Chop up about 3 raw chicken breasts or 4 chicken thighs into bite size pieces. Add to the soup at the same point in the recipe, and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Lower to a simmer over medium low heat and cook for about 10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. (Take out a piece and cut it in half to check for doneness.)
SHORTCUT RECIPE: If you are short on time, you can use a 27-ounce can of whole tomatillos in place of the fresh tomatillos. (Drain the liquid!) Use two (7-ounce) cans of green chilies in place of the poblano peppers. (No need to drain). Use the fresh jalapeno, or use one of those tiny 4-ounce cans of sliced jalapenos. I would drain the jalapenos too, unless you like it pretty spicy.
Nutrition
Calories: 205kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.004g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Potassium: 459mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 338IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 2mg
