Turkey and Quinoa Meatball Posole

Soup Battle Royale was playing out in my head this morning.  One camp was screaming, "I want Posole", the other "I want Meatball soup".  Whoa, keep it down in there I had to keep reminding myself.  The battle went on for what seemed like hours, finally I decided to step away and have an oatmeal, apple, ginger cookie while I cleared my head.

I really wanted both kinds of soup, but decided to use a process of elimination to find the winner.

Posole
(pros); spicy, hominy, crunchy, pork (need I say more)
(cons);  3 hours to make, lots of pork and wanting to cut back on meat

Before I even finished with the cons (that and I was mentally tired), I cried out - I just want some spicy, tasty soup with meatballs and I don't want to spend all day in the kitchen.  

Soup Base

8 dried New Mexico chili pods

4 cups boiling water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 - 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt

1 - 29 ounce can white hominy, rinsed and drained

Turkey and Quinoa Meatballs

1/2 pound ground turkey

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 clove garlic, minced

1 large egg

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Garnishes

Radishes, thinly sliced

Tostada chips

Lime wedges

Bring four cups of water to a boil and pour the boiling water over the chili pods and let soak 15-20 minutes.

Turn a heavy stockpot on to medium heat and add the olive oil, onions and celery and let cook for 10 minutes until the vegetables are starting to get a little color.  Add the garlic and cook a few minutes longer.  

Add the softened chili pods to a blender with 2 1/2 cups of the soaking liquid and pulse until finely chopped.  Pass the mixture through a fine sieve and discard the skins and seeds.  

Add the chili mixture to the stockpot and add the crushed tomatoes, 2 cups of water, cumin and salt and let cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.

Combine the ground turkey, quinoa, garlic, egg, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and mix with your hands until well combined.  I shaped the mixture into quarter sized meatballs and added them to the soup.  Let cook 5 more minutes.  

Add the drained and rinsed hominy and cook 10 more minutes.

Serve with sliced radishes, tostada chips and a squeeze of lime.

Hopefully I saved you from having this same battle play out in your head.  The meatballs are soft and tasty, the broth is spicy but not too hot and if you are like me you will need all the radishes in the above photo for your bowl alone.

Enjoy,

Gina

Posole - Live a little on the hot side!

I saw a recipe on another blog for posole that just really put me in the mood for this hearty soup; it has a soft spot in my heart.  The first time I ever had posole is when my husbands' cousin made it for me.  I was hooked from that day on; the porkyness (feel free to call the grammar police on me) of the broth and the tingle the chile leaves on your lips.  I prefer a little tingle, but if you prefer a more gringo version, just dial back on the amount of chiles a tad.

My husbands' dad used to cook stews all the time, and I'd watch my husband eating them with sweat pouring off his forehead.  When he'd ask me if I wanted to try some; I'd always think twice. I think my husband has finally converted me; I'm always saying that could use a little more heat now.

This is my husbands' cousin's recipe, with a few tweaks of my own.  You know our family is all related because they all tell you how to make stuff the same way.  You know those folks; oh you just need a handful of this and about that much.  I've seen many versions, and most seem to be more of a southwest style.  It's like anything; I think we all have our own favorite version.

Posole

4 lbs. Pork shoulder, cut into 1” cubes and reserve bone for pot

1 large onion, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 – 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained

12 cups water

8 Chile Pasilla (about 3 ozs.)

8 Chile California (about 3 ozs.)

4 cups boiling water

½ tsp. ground cumin

Kosher salt

2 – 29 oz. cans white hominy, drained

Garnishes:

Finely shredded green cabbage or lettuce

1-bunch radishes, diced

2-3 limes cut in wedges

Tostada Caseras Amarillas (I like Guerrero) (or tortilla chips)

Finely diced white onions

Dried oregano

1. I like to cut the pork shoulder up first and remove the excess fat from the pork.  You can also leave it whole and shred it later, but this will save you a step.  Plus you will end up with less fat in your broth.

2. Place the cut up pork and bone in a large stock pot and cover with 12 cups of water.  Add the chopped onion, can of tomatoes and minced garlic.  Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to simmer for 1 hour 30 minutes.

3. Place chiles in bowl and cover with 4 cups of boiling water, let sit till softened about 30 minutes. Making sure they stay submerged.

4. Once chiles are soft, remove stems and place chiles and 2 cups of their water in a blender and pulse till all chopped up.  Pour mixture through a sieve and add to pot, then add cumin.  Simmer for 30 minutes longer.  At this point I like stir the pot and ladle some of the broth through a strainer to get out any impurities from the broth, I like mine on the clearer side. 

5. Add drained hominy and salt, simmer 30 minutes longer.

The way I like to serve it is, place a pile of shredded cabbage on the bottom of the bowl, then ladle soup over that, squeeze of lime, a bunch of chopped radish, and break up some of the Tostada chips over everything.  That's my favorite combo, but I added a list of other condiments that are also traditional.  If you like even more heat in your broth, add 2 chipotles in adobo (rinsed) to your chiles, before putting them in the blender.

Enjoy,

Gina