Hearty & Flavorful Chicken Posole Verde: An Easy Hominy Soup Recipe
Discover the rich, vibrant flavors of this incredible Chicken Posole Verde recipe. It features tender shredded chicken and delightful hominy, all swimming in a deeply flavorful verde broth that will awaken your taste buds. This traditional Mexican soup is surprisingly easy to make, delivering an authentic taste that’s perfect for any weeknight or special gathering. Get ready to impress your family and friends with this hearty and satisfying meal! (A special thank you to Iowa Corn for sponsoring this post. All opinions and culinary explorations are my own.)
My Iowa Corn Quest: A Journey of Discovery and Culinary Inspiration
Roughly a month ago, I had the incredible privilege of attending the annual Corn Quest alongside Iowa Corn and nine other passionate bloggers. It was an absolutely unforgettable experience! If you happened to catch my Corn Salsa Recap Post a few weeks back, you’ll know just how much we learned. Our journey took us deep into the heart of corn country, providing fascinating insights into every aspect of this essential crop. We explored how corn is meticulously grown, the advanced techniques used for harvesting, and the astonishing variety of ways corn is utilized – not just in our food, but in countless everyday products that impact our lives. From sustainable farming practices to its role in biofuels, the versatility of corn is truly remarkable, and the dedication of Iowa’s corn farmers is truly inspiring.
One of the highlights of our trip was a fantastic cooking class at the charming Whisk Away Café in DeWitt, Iowa. Laura, the talented owner, guided us through an array of innovative ways to incorporate corn into our cooking. Every single recipe we prepared showcased corn in a manner I had never considered before! We crafted delicious appetizers using polenta, enjoyed sweet apple dessert tamales made with masa, and savored a comforting corn casserole featuring canned corn. However, the recipe that captured my heart and became an instant favorite was undoubtedly this extraordinary Chicken Posole Verde recipe, which masterfully utilizes hominy as a key ingredient.
Crafting the Perfect Chicken Posole Verde: A Step-by-Step Guide
This Chicken Posole Verde is more than just delicious; it’s an explosion of flavor that will leave you craving more. While it does involve a few distinct steps, I assure you that the depth of flavor you achieve by following them is absolutely worth every moment. This isn’t just a quick soup; it’s a culinary experience designed to bring warmth and robust taste to your table.
The journey to this authentic Mexican soup begins with preparing the chicken. You’ll gently simmer boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs in a generous amount of low-sodium chicken broth until they are incredibly tender. This process not only cooks the chicken to perfection but also infuses the broth with a deeper chicken flavor, which forms the foundation of our posole. Once cooked, the chicken is removed and easily shredded with a fork, ready to be reintroduced later, ensuring every spoonful has plenty of protein.
Next, we create the star of the show: the vibrant verde sauce. This fresh, zesty green sauce is effortlessly made in a blender, combining fresh poblano peppers, jalapeños for a subtle kick, tangy tomatillos, a generous bunch of cilantro, and fragrant dried Mexican oregano, seasoned simply with salt and pepper. The magic truly happens when this fresh sauce is transferred to a pan and gently simmered for a few minutes. This crucial step deepens its color to a rich, emerald green and, more importantly, intensifies all the beautiful flavors, transforming them from bright and raw to complex and harmonious. You’ll notice the aroma filling your kitchen as the flavors meld and mature.
Once the verde sauce has achieved its peak flavor, it’s carefully poured back into the chicken broth, creating the signature green base of our posole. At this point, the tender hominy is added, absorbing the delicious broth and contributing its unique, chewy texture. A simmering period allows the hominy to fully warm through and soak up the incredible flavors. Finally, the shredded chicken is returned to the pot for a final simmer, ensuring it’s perfectly heated and integrated into this magnificent stew. And just like that, you have a truly delicious and hearty Chicken Posole Verde soup that’s worthy of being the centerpiece of any dinner, any night of the week!
Unlocking the Secrets of Key Ingredients: Hominy and Verde Sauce
If you’re new to Mexican cuisine, you might be wondering, “What exactly is hominy?” Allow me to demystify this wonderful ingredient. Hominy is a truly unique product made from dried corn kernels that have undergone a traditional process called nixtamalization. This involves soaking and cooking the corn kernels in an alkaline solution, typically limewater (calcium hydroxide) or lye. This ancient method, originating in Mesoamerica, serves several purposes: it removes the hull and germ, softens the kernel, and, most importantly, significantly increases the nutritional value of the corn. The alkaline reaction liberates niacin (Vitamin B3), making it bioavailable for absorption by the body, thus preventing deficiencies like pellagra. The result? Puffy, chewy, and incredibly delicious orbs of corn with a distinct texture and earthy flavor that sets them apart from regular corn kernels. They add a wonderful substance and authentic character to any hominy soup.
And then there’s the vibrant verde sauce. Often referred to simply as “green salsa,” salsa verde is incredibly easy to prepare from scratch, and its core ingredients are readily available at most supermarkets. Its foundation typically includes fresh tomatillos, various green chilies like jalapeños and poblanos, onion, garlic, and cilantro. This versatile sauce can be used in myriad ways – as a zesty topping for tacos, enchiladas, or huevos rancheros, or, as in this recipe, as the main flavor component of a hearty dish like chicken posole verde. What makes our verde sauce truly special in this recipe is a simple yet impactful technique: simmering it on the stove for a few minutes. This brief cooking period deepens the flavors, enhancing the natural sweetness of the tomatillos and the warmth of the peppers, resulting in a richer, more complex salsa that makes this Posole Verde truly “pop” with unparalleled flavor.
This particular Chicken Posole Verde recipe stands out as one of the most flavorful and satisfying Mexican soups you can make at home, while still being wonderfully straightforward. Its combination of tender chicken, hearty hominy, and that incredibly aromatic verde broth creates a truly unforgettable dish. I sincerely hope you’ll give this recipe a try this week. It’s perfect for a comforting family dinner, a gathering with friends, or simply to warm you up on a chilly evening. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and experiences once you’ve made it – I love hearing from you! Thanks for reading and happy cooking!
Chicken Posole Verde Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 poblano peppers seeded
- 2 jalapeños seeded
- 1 lb. tomatillos
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 Tbsp. dried Mexican oregano
- 2 25-oz cans canned hominy, mostly drained
Desired Toppings:
- tortilla chips, queso fresco, shredded cabbage, sliced radishes, fresh cilantro, diced avocado, or a squeeze of lime juice
Instructions
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In a large soup pot, pour the chicken broth and bring it to a slow, rolling boil over medium-high heat. Carefully add the boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs to the simmering broth. Cook the chicken for about 15 minutes, or until it is thoroughly cooked through and very tender. Remove the cooked chicken from the pot and allow it to cool slightly before using two forks to shred it into bite-sized pieces. Set the shredded chicken aside.
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While the chicken is cooking, prepare your vibrant verde sauce. In a blender, combine the seeded poblano peppers, seeded jalapeños, whole tomatillos (husks removed and rinsed), a generous bunch of fresh cilantro, dried Mexican oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Blend these ingredients until the mixture is completely smooth and uniform. If the sauce appears too thick to blend easily, you can add a tablespoon or two of water or extra chicken broth to reach the desired consistency.
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Lightly spray a separate medium-sized pan with cooking spray or a touch of olive oil. Pour the blended green salsa into this pan. Simmer the salsa over medium heat for approximately 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. During this step, you’ll notice the sauce’s color deepen to a richer, more intense green, and its flavors will meld and intensify, creating a more complex and delicious base for your posole.
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Return to your large soup pot with the chicken broth. Add the now deeply flavorful green salsa to the chicken broth and stir thoroughly to combine. Next, stir in the mostly drained canned hominy. Allow the soup to simmer for an additional 10 minutes, giving the hominy time to warm through and absorb the delicious broth.
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Finally, stir in the shredded chicken you prepared earlier. Continue to simmer the posole for an additional 10 minutes to ensure all the ingredients are heated through and the flavors have fully melded. Serve this incredible Chicken Posole Verde hot in individual bowls, allowing everyone to customize their soup with their favorite garnishes. Enjoy this comforting and authentic Mexican dish!
Nutrition
If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like these hearty and healthy soup ideas:
Slow Cooker Chicken Chili Stew
Healthy Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
Creamy White Chicken Chili
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Once again, my sincere thanks to Iowa Corn for their generous sponsorship of this post. As always, all culinary perspectives and opinions shared here are entirely my own.