Posole is a Mexican stew that contains hominy — large white corn kernels, the same kind used for grits — and is typically made with pork in a tomato-y base. But it is a dish that lends itself to variations, and green posole “verde,” with its striking balance of deeply savory and lively, bright flavors, has always enchanted me.
The accompanying recipe brings all that to the table, but rather than taking a half-day to cook the traditional way, this one — thanks to a few strategic shortcuts — comes together in less than an hour.
Instead of tomatoes, posole verde calls for tomatillos, which look like small green tomatoes with papery skins and have a mouthwatering tangy flavor. You just remove their husks and rinse and rub off their lightly sticky coating, then cook them with onions and garlic until they are tender. The softened tomatillos, onions and garlic (whose flavor deepens and mellows when prepared this way) are pureed with toasted pumpkin seeds, which add a creamy richness to the dish, plus jalapeño, cilantro and oregano.
The flavor-packed puree is cooked down for 15 minutes until it has deepened in flavor and color, and that’s when the shortcuts come into play: chicken broth (homemade if you have it), two cans of hominy, which are akin in convenience to using canned beans, and cooked, shredded chicken breast, perhaps left over from a store-bought rotisserie bird.