Need a little spice in your life? (Who doesn’t?)
This spicy pozole soup should do the trick.
Pozole is the Spanish word for hominy. Hominy is a traditional ingredient in Mexican cooking. It’s use, in fact, dates back to the kitchens of the Aztecs when maize (or corn) was a sacred plant.
Today, pozole is cooked as either a soup or stew and is served as a special treat on celebratory days–Christmas, birthdays, Mexican Independence Day, etc.
If you are wondering how hominy differs from plain corn, hominy is prepared by treating dried field corn kernels in an alkali bath of lye or lime. This process is called nixtamalization. The treatment softens the corn removing its hull and germ. The remaining corn kernels swell. The resulting product is easier to grind and the grain of the corn sticks together when mixed with water making it possible to make masa for tortillas, tamales and other Hispanic foods. The alkali treatment also processes the niacin (vitamin B3) in the corn so that it is more digestible. In ancient times, the process also kept the corn from sprouting and allowed it to be stored for extended periods.
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This recipe is adapted from one that appears in the April 2019 issue of Eating Well Magazine. You can find the original recipe here.
