This was a meal built on leftovers, the sort of thing you’ll probably be seeing a lot more of around here as we tighten our belts in the months ahead. We had the better part of last Friday’s roast chicken left in the fridge (minus a drumstick, which Mike had lunched on), as well as portions of cooked hominy in the freezer from my last pot of pozole, so I decided to combine the two for a lighter, quicker take on that spicy Mexican dish. I started with a bit of leftover pork fat melted in the bottom of my heavy pan, and added a large onion, chopped, and a healthy pinch of kosher salt.
Mike had made a particularly potent batch of chile powder for me earlier in the day, and I added a judicious amount of that – probably a tablespoon – as well as additional ground cumin and some Mexican oregano, which I stirred through the onions. The bird went in next, with 5 or 6 cups of water, and I lidded the pot and let it simmer away for about a half hour, so the chicken could make its own stock. I fished out the chicken and the few bones that had fallen away from the carcass, and when it was cool enough I shredded the meat off in big chunks with my fingers, adding them back to the pot. The thawed hominy went in next – about 2 or 3 cups worth, and when it had all come back up to a simmer, I started tasting and adjusting the seasoning, adding enough freshly squeezed lime juice and salt to balance out the heat of the chiles.
I served it up in my favorite deep bowls, with a grating of cheese, some sliced radish and creamy avocado on top, and crunchy tortilla chips on the side (which were great crumbled into the broth). This was a warming, hearty meal on a snowy night, which didn’t require much in the way of time or energy to assemble, and it was a great use of that leftover roast chicken.
Yum. I’ve never cooked with hominy but I always save recipes calling for it.
Radish and avocado- intriguing, what inspired that combo?
That looks delicious…I’m glad we can look forward to more dishes like this.
hominy is certainly a fabulous, yet underutilized ingredient in American kitchens. glad to see not everyone goes without!
cheers,
*heather*
http://squirrelbread.wordpress.com
i want that
it looks amazing
simple, pure and honest
i want that
but i kinda want everything you cook
I hear you about using leftovers these days. Looks like belt tightening leads to great food at your house, Jen!
Thanks, everyone!
Trevor, the radish and avocado are pretty traditional garnishes for pozole, so I can’t take credit for the combination 🙂
I’m sure this was super delicious but for some reason this eerily reminds me of a stew of cow intestine I tried in San Antonio from Mi Tierra, it’s a Mexican delicacy called menudo and apparently a San Antonio favorite. I could barely swallow one bite. Thank goodness there is no cow intestine in yours! 🙂