On one of my visits home to Monterrey, I was chatting with my aunt Miriam. As we always talk about food, she told me of a recipe her sister - my aunt Celina - had recently mentioned. “A recipe that’s so easy and so delicious I just had to make it”, she said. That recipe was Pozolillo.
What? Pozolillo? Never heard of that! That was the only nudging I needed to research and of course, make. The dish is, indeed, easy to make and delicious, but I could not find much history behind it. It seems it is made in the southwestern States of Guerrero and Jalisco, but there doesn’t seem to be much more info than that - at least, none that I could find.
In Mexico, we all know Pozole, that delicious and famous soup made with chicken, pork and hominy. Pozolillo, as the name implies, is an easier version of its cousin Pozole, which is delicious, but the recipe takes a good 2-3 hours to make. When you’re short on time but you have a craving for Pozole, this is the right recipe for you.
When we work with poblano chiles, usually they need to be roasted, so they can be peeled and deveined. While this is a very easy step, it does add 10-15 minutes to our prep time. The beauty of this recipe is that we can skip the roasting, using the chiles seeded and chopped instead - nice and quick.
I always have home made stock in the freezer, which makes the best soups, but if you don’t have it, commercial stock is fine - as long as it’s low in sodium. If you don’t have a cooked chicken breast, you can use leftovers from a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket.
All you have to do is throw the poblanos, tomatillos, onion, garlic, chiles and cilantro into the blender, then cook the sauce a bit before adding the stock, corn kernels and the shredded chicken to that, then season and simmer. This soup comes together very quickly. Some shredded lettuce, sliced radishes, diced avocado and lime juice complete the garnishes for a totally delicious, yet very easy soup, perfect for a weeknight meal, or a lazy Saturday night at home.
Pozolillo
Chicken, Poblano and Corn Soup
2 poblano chiles, seeded and cut into chunks
5 medium tomatillos, husked, washed and cut into chunks
1 medium white onion, peeled and cut into chunks
2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
2 serrano or jalapeño chiles, stemmed and cut into chunks
½ bunch cilantro (leaves and stems), chopped roughly (about 1 cup)
2 1/2 litres chicken stock
1 double chicken breast, poached and shredded
3 ears of corn, kernels cut off
2 Tbsp kosher salt or to taste
1 tsp grapeseed or vegetable oil
Garnishes:
2 cups shredded iceberg or romaine lettuce
5-6 radishes, very thinly sliced
3 limes, cut into wedges
1 avocado, cut into chunks (optional)
Corn tostadas (optional)
In blender container, place poblano chiles, tomatillos, onion, garlic, serranos and cilantro. Add a bit of broth to make it easier to blend. Process until completely smooth.
In large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil and add chile puree. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Add broth, corn kernels, shredded chicken and salt. Simmer for 30-40 minutes to let flavours develop. Adjust seasoning and serve hot. Garnish bowls with shredded lettuce, sliced radishes and a sprinkle of lime juice. If you want, you can also add chunks of avocado and tostadas on the side.
Serves 4-6
This recipe was first published at www.thelatinkitchen.com