Pork and Chorizo Pozole
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 pounds trimmed boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1 inch cubes
- Salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1 large white onion, quartered
- 2 cloves
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican, plus more for garnish
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 quarts beef broth
- 1 pound tomatillos, husked and rinsed
- 4 plum tomatoes, halved
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 ounce each of ancho and guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 1 pound fresh Mexican chorizo, casings removed
- 2 15 ounce cans white hominy, drained and rinsed
- Thinly sliced radishes, chopped onion, cilantro and lime wedges, for serving
Preparation:
In a large enameled cast iron casserole, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season the pork with salt and pepper, add to the casserole, and cook over moderately high heat, stirring twice, until browned, about 8 minutes. Add 1 piece of the quartered onion, the cloves, 1 tablespoon of oregano, the bay leaves, and 6 cups of the beef broth and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over moderately low heat until the pork is tender, about 40 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Meanwhile, heat a large cast iron skillet. In a large bowl, toss the tomatillos, tomatoes, garlic and remaining 3 pieces of onion with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Add the vegetables to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat until blistered in spots, about 10 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a blender. In the same skillet, toast the chiles over moderately high heat until slightly darkened, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining 2 cups of beef broth and bring to a simmer; cover the skillet, remove from the heat, and let the chiles soften for 5 minutes. Add the chiles and broth to the blender with the vegetables and puree until smooth. Strain the vegetable chile puree into a bowl. Wipe out the skillet.
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet. Add the chorizo and cook over moderate heat, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the chorizo, hominy and vegetable chile puree to the casserole and bring the pozole to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish the pozole with radishes, onion, cilantro and oregano and serve with lime wedges. Serves 6 to 8.