Pozole Rojo

Pozole Rojo

My brother and I can't remember a time when we didn't have hominy at least once a week. It was a staple in our vegetarian house and was among the few dishes our mom cooked well. The few dishes she makes regularly are excellent and well-loved in our family (she just called and is making enchiladas for my cousin's birthday as I write this). BUT, I can count them on one hand, which is certainly one of the reasons my brother and I became the cooks we are today.

This is my cabinet o'beans that I'm trying to work my way through because, really, who needs this many beans? Have you ever tried to make beans a major portion of your diet in the summer? You definitely have to be creative because most bean dishes I like are hot dishes and not conducive to the hot, humid days we've had recently. That's why the recent cooler weather made me jump at the chance to use the hominy that's been stowing away among the beans for who knows how long.

Cabinet O'Beans

The more I read about traditional pozole, the different varieties depending on location, and its cannibalistic past, the more I just want to give you guys a ton of links to a bunch of weird Aztec stories and go on a tangent about all the creation stories I studied in my Native American Indian Music course in undergrad...

Typically, this stew is made from hominy and meat, most commonly pork or chicken but the base, veggie additions, and toppings vary. The hominy is what gives this dish it's unique flavor and the hominy cannot be substituted. You can use the dried or canned variety, but I prefer the canned just because I never feel like I get the dried version soft enough. This can also easily be made vegetarian by swapping out the chicken stock with veggie stock and omitting the cooked chicken or pork. And while we're on that topic, don't cook your meat with the soup because it will become very dry and tough before the soup is done. I usually marinate in a little lemon juice then just grill my chicken on the Foreman or filet+sauté in salt, pepper, and garlic, but pat dry before sautéing if you do the later.

Cooking dried, rehydrated hominy (right).

Even among the rojo (red) varieties there are variations in what makes it red, usually dried red chiles or in my case, tomatoes. I still add fresh chiles to mine, but it all depends on what looks good in the market that week or what my friends share with me from their family's recent shipment of hatch chiles or whatever came in my CSA box (I've been making this dish a long time). Toppings I enjoy are cilantro, shredded Napa cabbage, chopped shallots (or red onion), thinly sliced radishes, lime wedges, and occasionally some sliced avocado and mildly flavored queso fresco. You can seriously dump almost any other veggie into the pot and it will be great. I've even used asparagus coins once because a friend shared an enormous amount and I just couldn't use it fast enough. I'm serious, literally anything.

Ingredients:

1. 2 Tbsp olive oil or canola oil
2. 2 Tbsp chopped garlic
3. 1 yellow onion, coarsely but evenly chopped
4. 1-3 peppers of choice, chopped (de-vein for less heat)
5. 1 large can plum tomatoes, cubed or crushed (preferably San Marzano variety), including juices
6. 4 cups chicken stock
7. 2 cans hominy, including juices
8. **or ** 2-3 cups dried, rehydrated, cooked hominy including 1-2 cups cooking water
9. 1/2 tsp ground cumin
10. 1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
11. 1/4 tsp celery seeds
12. 2-3 bay leaves
13. 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
14. salt and pepper to taste
15. cooked chicken or pork

Topping options:

1. Napa cabbage, shredded
2. shallots or red onion, chopped
3. green onion, chopped
4. radishes, thinly sliced
5. limes, wedges
6. cilantro, coarsely chopped
7. avocado, sliced
8. queso fresco, crumbled

Instructions:

• Heat oil in large stock pot on medium heat.
• Sauté garlic and onion for 3-5 minutes or until onion is slightly translucent.
• Add chopped pepper, sauté and additional 2-3 minutes or until pepper starts to become soft and release it's moisture.
• Add the tomatoes (entire contents of can) and sauté 2-3 minutes to heat tomatoes and they start to release moisture.
• Add the chicken stock and hominy.
• Turn the heat up to highest setting and bring to a boil.
• Boil 2-3 minutes and reduce heat to a simmer.
• Add the cumin, dried oregano, celery seeds, bay leaves, and red pepper flakes (optional).
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Simmer until liquid is slightly thickened and hominy is soft, but not complete mush. 
• Remove bay leaves.
• Garnish with desired toppings and serve. 

Spaghetti Squash with Deconstructed Pesto

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All hail his holy carbiness! This was my first time cooking spaghetti squash on my own and I've been watching all your Pinterest boards for months on how to perfectly cook this monster into something that closely resembles one of our most beloved form of carbs. I have tons of basil from my recent harvest, so that's where the pesto comes in. The deconstructed business is only because Thomas Keller has spoiled my taste buds and contrary to popular belief, I don't always like to completely homogenize everything I eat. (I'm going to make the best old person with my mechanically softened diet!)

I'll talk about my tips from my own experience in this post, but if you want to see the "research" I did on how to cook spaghetti squash well and the many methods for cooking spaghetti squash, go here.

This was a great dish to prepare ahead of time and take with me to see The Piano Guys at Ravinia. It went well with the picnic my friends and I put together, but I would suggest keeping the basil separate until just before serving so it doesn't wilt overnight.

Here are some awkward photos my friends allowed me to take of them eating this dish. They enjoyed eating it far more than enduring my poor photog skills. I know, they look so happy and excited!

Ingredients:

1. 1 spaghetti squash
2. 4 Tbsp olive oil, reserved
3. 2 Tbsp chopped garlic
4. 1/4 cup chopped pine nuts
5. 1/3 cup Parmesan or Romano cheeses or mix of both
6. kosher salt
7. coarsely ground black pepper
8. 2 cups fresh basil leaves (large bunch), julienned
9. 1-2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Instructions:

• With a sharp knife, pierce spaghetti squash 5-6 times.
• Microwave on high for 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of your spaghetti squash.
• Remove from microwave and allow to cool for 20-30 minutes.
• Slice into rings (width-wise).
• Remove seeds from center of rings and set aside
• Remove strands from rings, discarding the thick outer skin.
• If strands are excessively moist, line a colander with paper towel, place strands into lined colander, and allow to drain for 10-15 minutes.
• Heat a deep sauté pan over med-low heat.
• Add 2 Tbsp olive oil and chopped garlic, sauté 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Add chopped pine nuts, sauté and additional 1-2 minutes or until pine nuts have become slightly transparent. 
• Add spaghetti squash strands and turn heat to low, sauté 5-10 minutes or until most of the moisture from the squash has evaporated. 
• Remove from heat, add cheese(s), remaining olive oil, and julienned fresh basil.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Add balsamic vinegar just before serving. 

Spaghetti Squash After-Party:
For an additional snack, prepare the seed as you would with pumpkin seeds!

Just make sure you clean them soon after removing them during squash prep. Let them sit out overnight to dry adequately. Toss them in olive oil and roast on your oven's lowest setting until seeds are crispy (about 20-30 minutes). Toss with seasoning and enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash Research

This post is supplemental to the Spaghetti Squash with Deconstructed Pesto post. I wanted to share the sites I used as a guide for how to cook the spag better, but didn't want to bog down the post about the recipe.

Following are a few Pinterest finds related to cooking spaghetti squash. I haven't tried all the recipes, but I'm sure I'll experiment with most of them soon (especially now that I have them in one easy list). As always, if you have any tips or suggestions, please leave me a comment!

Cooking instructions for Spag n00bz:

• Simple instructions on how to cook the Spag so its strands are long like traditional spaghetti 
• Apparently you can also cook the seeds, just like a pumpkin!
• 4 methods for prepping your Spag

Recipe ideas:

• Who doesn't love a good pad thai?
• Spag Squash Carbonara
• Lasagna boats, two ways
• Beef Spag Casserole with bonus Indian Roasted Butternut Squash (Will be browsing this blog a bit more!)

If you don't feel like waiting for all these links to open and slow down your computer and cause your favorite Spotify mix to skip, here is a summary:

• If you want long strands, cut your squash along the width. If you want short strands, cut it along the length. 
• Seeds can be saved, cleaned, and roasted similarly to pumpkin seeds. 
• A popular method for removing some of the excess liquid is to sautee the strands for several minutes. Another method is to line a colander with paper towel and let the cooked strands drain off any excess liquid. 
• The various methods for cooking include microwave, oven, crockpot, or pressure cooker (just hearing these words give me nightmarish flashbacks to all the bland bean dishes of my vegetarian childhood!). Microwaving seems to be the chosen method for most people because it's the fastest. 
• Microwave: pierce squash in several places to allow steam to escape, microwave 5-10 minutes or until soft. Slice, remove seeds, and tease apart strands with fingers or a fork.
• Oven: bake temps and times vary, but most bake at 375-400F for 45-60 minutes. If going the long-strand route, slice into rings, remove seeds, and bake on a nonstick surface (parchment paper or a Silpat mat). If going the short-strand route, slice along the length, brush the inner flesh with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and bake skin-side up. Allow squash to cool and tease apart strands.
• Crockpot: pierce in a few places for steam to escape, place in crockpot with 1 cup of water or broth, and cook on low for 8 hours or until soft. This seems unnecessary since the microwave route is faster and super easy. I'll have to try this to see if the flavor/texture are improved with this method, otherwise I just don't see the point.
• Pressure Cooker: not many details here as this isn't a popular method among bloggers, but most need to be cut along the width to fit into the cooker. Remove seeds and cook for 15 minutes. And don't be dumb when releasing the steam at the end! (It would violate HIPAA for me to describe all the pressure cooker-inflicted burns I treated last year.) Allow squash to cool and tease apart strands.