Pozole goes north of the border

Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger

Mexican soups can be made ahead of time for a weeknight Cinco de Mayo celebration.

Basic Broth for Mexican Soups

• 1 (4-pound) whole chicken
• 1 medium onion, unpeeled
• 3 cloves garlic, unpeeled, or up to two whole heads, halved but not peeled
• 3 carrots, unpeeled, well-scrubbed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, bruised
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 12 cups water

Place all ingredients in a large stockpot and bring to a boil; skim off foam. Reduce heat and simmer, partly covered, for one hour. Lift out chicken, set aside to cool. Strain broth through a fine-mesh strainer; discard solids. Pull meat from the bones of the chicken and shred; refrigerate until ready to use. Refrigerate cooled stock for at least an hour, then skim off solidified fat.

Note: For pork stock, substitute a three-pound boned pork shoulder or three pounds of country-style pork ribs and simmer for two hours. For fish stock, substitute three pounds fish frames, heads and scraps and add thyme, parsley and cilantro sprigs and simmer for 45 minutes. For a richer stock, simmer pork in chicken stock.

Pozole de Camarones (Hominy-Shrimp Soup)

For the stock:

• 5 quarts water
• 2 medium white onions, peeled and quartered
• 2 heads garlic, halved but not peeled
• 1/4 rib of celery, cut into pieces
• 6 carrots, peeled
• 6 dried chilacate, guajillo or New Mexico chiles, seeded and deveined
• 2 pounds catfish, cleaned
• 1 pound fish heads
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• salt to taste

For the pozole:

• 1 head garlic, halved but not peeled
• 1 medium white onion, peeled and halved
• 1 (16-ounce) can of hominy, drained
• 1/2 cup olive oil or lard
• 1 1/2 pounds shrimp (shells and heads reserved)
• 8 dried chilacate, guajillo or New Mexico chiles, seeded and deveined
• 2 1/4 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• Salt to taste

For the garnish:

• 10 fried corn tortillas or tortilla chips
• 10 limes cut in half
• 10 radishes, sliced
• 2 cups shredded lettuce
• Chile powder to taste

For the stock: Heat the water in a large stockpot. Add the remaining ingredients. Simmer uncovered for about 1 1/2 hours. Strain and set aside. Discard solids.

For the pozole: Heat all but four cups of the strained fish stock in a large stockpot. Add the garlic, onion and hominy and cook, covered, until the corn swells and the kernels open, about 40 minutes. Heat the oil in a medium skillet. Add the shrimp and sauté until cooked through; set aside. In the same pan, sauté the shrimp heads and shells until they become crisp and red. Add the reserved four cups fish stock and simmer uncovered for four minutes. Strain the stock, discarding the solids. Add the shrimp and shrimp stock to the pozole and cook over low heat for five minutes. Grind the chiles, oregano and peppercorns in a spice mill. Stir the mixture and salt to taste into the pozole. Continue cooking for 10 minutes.

Ladle soup into 10 deep bowls; serve all garnishes on the side.

Source: "Cuisine of the Water Gods" (Quintana, Simon and Schuster, $25)

Pozole Rojo (Red Hominy Soup)

• 1 large head garlic
• 12 cups water
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4 pounds country-style pork ribs
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican), crumbled
• 2 ounces dried New Mexico red chiles
• 1 1/2 cups boiling-hot water
• 1/4 large white onion
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 2 (30-ounce) cans white hominy (preferably Bush's Best)
• 8 corn tortillas
• About 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

Accompaniments:

• Diced avocado
• Thinly sliced iceberg or romaine lettuce
• Chopped white onion
• Diced radishes
• Lime wedges
• dried oregano
• Dried hot red pepper flakes

Peel garlic cloves and reserve two for chile sauce. Slice remaining garlic. In a seven- to eight-quart heavy kettle, bring water and broth just to a boil with sliced garlic and pork. Skim foam from surface and add oregano. Gently simmer, uncovered, until pork is tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

While pork is simmering, discard stems from chiles (wear protective gloves) and combine chiles with boiling-hot water in a bowl. Soak chiles, turning occasionally, for 30 minutes. Cut onion into large pieces and in a blender purée with chiles and soaking liquid, reserved garlic and two teaspoons salt until smooth.

Transfer pork with tongs to a cutting board and reserve broth mixture. Shred pork, using two forks, and discard bones. Rinse and drain hominy. Return pork to broth mixture and add chile sauce, hominy and remaining teaspoon salt. Simmer pozole 30 minutes and, if necessary, season with salt. Pozole can be made two days ahead and chilled, covered.

While pozole is simmering, stack tortillas and halve. Cut halves crosswise into thin strips. In a nine- to 10-inch skillet, heat a half-inch of oil until hot but not smoking and fry tortilla strips in three or four batches, stirring occasionally, until golden, one to two minutes. As they finish, transfer tortilla strips with a slotted spoon to brown paper or paper towels to drain. Transfer tortilla strips to a bowl. Tortilla strips can be made a day ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.

Serve pozole with tortilla strips and bowls of accompaniments.

Serves eight.