When Nico Sanchez, executive chef for Meso Maya restaurants, was asked to come up with a soup for the Dallas Zoo To Do benefit party four years ago, he wanted to bring something different. He remembered a pozole verde he'd tasted at his aunt's house in Mexico City.
"I didn't know there was a pozole verde. Where I'm from — Guanajuato — we make pozole with pork and red chile," he says. "This was made with chicken. It was so light and interesting. So I came up with a recipe that reminded me of that."
People stood in line for his green soup with pozole and chicken, so he decided to add it to the menu at Meso Maya. Since then, it has become a signature item. "It's definitely the most popular soup on the menu," he says. "Some come in just for that soup."
It's not difficult to make, either, he says. In fact, in Mexico, it's a soup that's made at home, not one you'd find in restaurants.
At our request, Sanchez scaled down Meso Maya's recipe, and he says it can be easily customized to individual tastes.
"You can use vegetable stock and vegetables instead of chicken broth and shredded chicken; add Hatch chiles when they're in season to make it spicy; or make a Mexican-style bouillabaisse and add shrimp," he says. "You can do your own take on it."
Nico Sanchez's Mexico City-Style Pozole Verde
2 poblano peppers
6 medium-sized tomatillos
3 corn tortillas
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/3 cup chopped white or yellow onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 serrano chile, stem removed and sliced, optional (if you like it hot)
8 cups chicken broth
10 pieces fresh cilantro, stems included
Sea salt to taste
1 (25-ounce) can white hominy, rinsed
Shredded chicken, for serving (3/4 cup per person)
Queso fresco, for serving
Lime wedges, for serving
Sliced avocado, for serving
Roast the poblano peppers. Make a few slices in the peppers with a sharp knife and put directly onto a gas flame or under the broiler. Turn until all sides are blackened. Let cool slightly. Using a paper towel, remove the skin. Slide open the peppers and scrape out the seeds. Set aside.
Peel the husks off the tomatillos and rinse them under cold water to remove the sticky residue. Slice them in half. Set aside.
Toast the tortillas by placing them one at a time directly onto the gas flame and cooking them until lightly browned on both sides. Set them aside to cool, then tear them into pieces.
Put the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the cumin, onion, garlic, serrano if using, roasted poblano peppers, and tomatillos. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatillos are tender and change in color from green to yellow, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the tortillas and chicken stock. Increase the heat to medium-high. When it boils, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 more minutes. Turn off the heat and let it cool slightly. Add the cilantro.
Working in small batches, carefully pour some of the soup into a blender and purée until well-blended. Be sure to remove the middle stopper from the blender before blending. Pour the soup into a pot and repeat with the rest of the soup until it has all been blended. Taste for seasonings.
Add the hominy to the soup and warm through for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the hominy is soft. Serve in bowls with shredded chicken and top with queso fresco, avocado slices and lime wedges on the side.
Makes 5-7 servings.
SOURCE: Chef Nico Sanchez of Meso Maya