Not really posole, but it’s in the same family. And the recipe I started with was a posole-like soup that people from northern New Mexico would recognize. Anyway, it’s been changed, but we like it.
Serves: 4-6
Time: 6-8 hours
Active Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
1 C chicos
4 C chicken stock
1 Tbsp cooking oil or bacon grease
1 pound beef stew meat, cut into ½-¾ inch cubes
½ Tbsp ground ancho chile powder
½ Tbsp ground Chimayo chile powder
½ Tbsp onion powder
Salt and black pepper
15oz can diced tomatoes
1 bag frozen peas and carrots mix
Directions
Place chicos and chicken stock into a 4.5 quart crock pot.
Cook on high for 1 hour, then low for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
Season beef with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with chile powders.
Brown beef in a medium skillet with about a tablespoon of oil or bacon fat.
Add beef, tomatoes, and onion powder to the crock pot.
Deglaze skillet with a can of water, then add to the crock pot.
Continue to cook on low for an hour or more.
1 hour before serving time, add peas and carrots and stir. Add salt to taste.
Serve with sour cream, soft tortillas and maybe some cilantro or purslane.
4 cups sweet potatoes, diced into ½” cubes (or carrot/squash) (there are bags of frozen roasted sweet potatoes we like to use – 2 bags is the right amount)
2 cups vegetable (or chicken) broth or water
15 oz can coconut milk
1 tsp chile powder
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
Directions
In a large pot over medium heat, sauté onion in a little oil (1T) until it begins to brown. Darker than translucent, lighter than caramelized.
Add broth and bring back to a boil, deglazing pan if needed.
Add coconut milk and bring back to a boil.
Add sweet potatoes and bring back to a boil.
Add spices.
Stir to combine, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes if using frozen roasted sweet potatoes, or 30 minutes if using fresh sweet potatoes, or until potatoes are tender.
Use an immersion blender to blend soup until completely smooth.
Serve and enjoy!
We routinely add a Spam Single, some leftover ham, a half-pound of Italian sausage, or other meat to this. Frozen spinach or chard is also a good addition. My sweetie likes to add a sprinkle of Tajin powder to hers.
3 or 4 quart round porcelain casserole with heavy domed lid
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 275°F
Saute onion in a couple tablespoons cooking oil.
Place in bottom of 3 quart round casserole.
Brown beef in pan used to saute onions.
Add to casserole.
Add curry sauce mix, and one quart boiling water, which should be enough to cover the meat.
Stir to break up curry bricks and make sure everything is in the water.
Lid and place into oven for 3-4 hours, stirring hourly.
When meat is falling apart, remove soup-bone (if present), any gristle, and skim off whatever fat you can. Make sure the meat is in bite-sized chunks.
Add carrots and potatoes.
Re-lid, and put back in the oven for another hour, or until the carrots and potatoes reach a consistency you like.
Season to taste, and serve over rice.
Preparation time
20 minutes
Cooking time
5 hours
Feeds
6
Pretty simple. Tasty. Hearty fare. All things I like when the morning low temp is below freezing. And the house smells pretty darned good while it’s cooking. It’s also better after the meat has had a chance to cool and re-set the gelatin, so any leftovers won’t last long.
4-6 spring onions, chopped finely, green bits and all
1C chicos
1 qt chicken stock (use vegetable stock if you want a vegan dish)
400ml can coconut milk
1 leek, trimmed, finely sliced, and rinsed
1 clove garlic
small handful small yellow potatoes, or one large white potato
⅓ bag roasted green chiles from the market, peeled, seeded and frozen, then chopped finely
1 tsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp corn flour
2 Tbsp potato flakes
1 can (15 oz) sweet corn, with juice
Directions
Sauté onions in a skillet with a little oil, 6-8 minutes, until they’ve gone a bit brown, past translucent
Put chicos, chicken stock, and coconut milk into crock pot and get it warming on high
Add onions to crock pot
Sauté leek and garlic in a little oil, until leek is translucent, and add to crock pot
Cut potatoes into 1cm cubes and sauté in a little oil until soft, then add to pot
Sauté chopped green chiles in a little oil in skillet, and add to pot
When pot comes to a boil (over 90 minutes with my crock pot), add corn flour and potato flakes, stirring well
After a few minutes, add corn and liquid from can and stir well
Taste and season with salt as needed
If you like your chowder thicker, put in a stick blender into the pot and blend some of the soup up
Serve and enjoy
Notes on ingredients
Chicos are corn, roasted on the cob in an horno, and then dried. They keep pretty much forever, and add a nice smoky flavor to food.
Green chiles are sold at farmers markets in New Mexico in the fall, roasted right there at the market. They’re typically sold in sandwich bags or quart ziploc bags. We buy the mildest ones available, bring them home and peel, seed, and freeze them into freezer bags (one per bag from the market). A third of one of those bags is enough in this recipe for us, but don’t let me tell you how spicy to make your food. If you must use canned, one of the small cans is probably a good starting place.
The simplest way I know of to get all the dirt out of leeks is to cut off the fine roots, thinly slice the leek, then put it in a bowl and rinse it with water. But if you’ve got a better suggestion, have at it! I didn’t use the green part of the leek in this recipe, as it was already plenty onion-y, but again, you’re welcome to use it all if you want.
If you want a little added protein in this, adding bacon would be a fine idea. I would use about a pound of bacon, chopped up and sautéed. Or a can of spam if that works for you.
Cook time: 8 hours. Start this around 8am. You’ll need to fiddle with it about lunchtime and 2pm, too. It’ll be ready about 4pm.
Serves: 8-12. Or a family with 3 growing boys.
Ingredients
2 pounds chicken thighs
6 ribs celery, chopped
½ onion chopped
1 tsp tarragon
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp basil
4-6 C chicken stock
¾ bag frozen carrots
1 or 2 potatoes, diced
½ bag frozen roasted sweet potatoes
1 C coconut milk
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp minced dried chives
1/3 bag frozen peas
1/3 bag frozen corn
Directions
Place celery, onion, chicken, half of the carrots, and 4C chicken stock into a 4.5 qt crock pot
Set crock pot on high and forget about it for 4 hours
Using two forks, shred chicken meat and skin and remove and discard bones and cartilage. You will miss at least one piece of cartilage. That shows the soup is home-made.
Add potato and balance of frozen carrots
Turn to low and let cook for 2 hours
Add frozen vegetables and enough chicken stock (about 2 C) to fill the crock pot, and let cook on low for 2 hours.
