This shredded chicken and hominy-based Mexican stew is slow simmered with a salsa verde made with tomatillos, cilantro, and jalapeños giving this soup a beautiful green hue, and the pumpkin seeds add a nutty flavor and creamy texture.
In a large saucepan cook tomatillos, onion, jalapeño, and garlic in a large amount of boiling water about 8 minutes or until tomatillos turn light green. Drain liquid.
In a blender combine the tomatillo, onion, peppers, garlic, cilantro, pepitas, and salt. Cover and blend until smooth.
Soup:
In a 6-quart caldero place broth, water, chicken, onion, garlic, and salt and bring to a boil and then lower heat to medium-low for 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
Shred the chicken into small pieces.
Add cooked onions and garlic from poached chicken to salsa verde and blend until smooth.
Add the shredded chicken, salsa verde, and hominy to the caldero with broth. Partially cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. If necessary, season with salt.
Spoon pozole into soup bowls. Let your guests add the garnishes to suit their own taste. Serve with tostadas.
Notes
Waste not, want not. Unlike most other herbs, cilantro stems are tender and brimming with the bright flavor of its leaves. Since we’re blending it all into salsa anyway, feel free to chuck in the stems, too!
To quickly shred the chicken, use two forks. You can also use a hand mixer to make the process even faster.
Garnish for gold. Half the fun of eating a big bowl of pozole is experiencing all the tastes, textures, and temperatures of the toppings. Make sure to offer at least a few from the list above for a truly authentic bowl. A few of my favorite toppings are lime wedges, cilantro, and thinly sliced jalapeños and radishes. Serve with a side of tostadas.
The leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week. The soup will thicken once refrigerated, feel free to add more water or chicken broth to reheat.
To freeze, transfer the pozole to freezer containers with as little air as possible to prevent freezer burn (while still keeping some headroom for expansion).
To serve leftovers, thaw frozen pozole overnight in the fridge, and warm over low heat on the stovetop, adding a splash of broth or water as needed.