Chicken Posole

This is one of my all time favorite soup recipes! I got the recipe from my sister a few years ago. Thanks for the recipe sista =)! I changed it up quite a bit to add more flavor. Before it didn't have any spices or green onions, the chicken wasn't grilled and it wasn't served with avocados. Sometimes if I don't have fresh tomatoes I will also use canned but if you use canned I would say omit the sugar (I added sugar to tone down the acidity of the fresh tomatoes). This soup is hearty, healthy, loaded with fresh goodness and full of exciting flavors (and heat if you prefer). This soup isn't your traditional Posole. It's very similar to chicken tortilla soup but with added cabbage and hominy. If you like Mexican food you will love this soup!

Chicken Posole

Yields about 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled and shredded*

1.25 lb Roma tomatoes (about 5)

1/2 large yellow onion

2 green onions

3 cloves garlic

1-5 jalapenos, to taste**

1/3 cup cilantro 

6 cups chicken broth (you can add an additional 2 cups if desired)

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp cumin

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 (29 oz) can Mexican Style hominy (don't drain)

Serve with:

chopped cabbage (cut to about 1/2"- 1" pieces)

lime wedges

shredded Monterrey or Cheddar cheese

sour cream

chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)

diced avocados (don't ask me why but I totally forgot to add these when I took the pics)

tortilla chips

Directions:

Dice tomtatoes, yellow onion, green onions, garlic and jalepenos into chunks then toss into food processor along with 1/3 cup cilantro. Pulse until everything is chopped into very small pieces (you may need to do this in batches depending on how much your food processor can fit, alternately you can chop these all up by hand which is what I would do before I got a processor). Pour mixture into a large saucepan, add in chicken broth, chili powder, sugar, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring mixture just to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes (or up to 1 hour). Add in hominy and grilled, shredded chicken and cook a few minutes until heated through. To serve: place a handful of chopped cabbage in serving bowl, squeeze juice of one lime wedge over cabbage, laddle soup over cabbage, top with grated cheese, diced avocados, sour cream, optional cilantro and serve warm with tortilla chips (I like to dip some chips and crush some into the soup).

*for the chicken I baste them lightly with extra virgin olive oil then season them lightly with taco seasoning (here is a good recipe, I omit the red pepper flakes and substitute cayenne pepper) before grilling. But do it however your prefer. 

**add these according to desired heat preference. To me these are the highlight of the soup and I love things HOT so I usually add about 5. If you don't like a lot of heat I'd recommend going with a lesser amount and maybe even removing the seeds from the jalapenos. So add with caution based on how much heat you like.


Recipe Source: Cooking Classy