All these beautiful, fresh poblano peppers got me scrambling through my trove of recipes looking for those that included poblano peppers. Pozole Verde jumped out at me as one to try. This vegetarian rendition comes from Lisa Donovan at NYT cooking.
I adapted it by replacing tomatillos with a mixture of unripe and ripe tomatoes, chickpeas rather than hominy and doubling the stock to make it a soup rather than a stew. Despite my changes, it tastes very nice indeed. Lisa’s recipe includes a bunch of lacinato kale which I included; next time, I will leave it out. I don’t think the soup needs it when all the toppings are added. Unfortunately for me, I am not a lover of kale but if you are by all means, add it in!
I confess I made this over two days. I made soup stock and soaked the chickpeas the first day, roasted the vegetables and pressure cooked the chickpeas the next morning. Then I made the soup.
Pozole Verde
Ingredients
1 bunch cilantro, split
2 small brown or white onions
8 cloves garlic
900 kg of unripe or ripe tomatoes (or fresh tomatillos if they are available)
5 fresh poblano chilies
1-3 red chillies
1 large lime
2 + tsp Himalayan salt (or to taste)
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp oregano (preferably Mexican if you have it)
1 bunch laminate kale, stemmed and finely chopped (optional)
1 cup raw chickpeas, washed, soaked for 24 hours and pressure cooked
8 cups homemade soup stock (no salt or fats added)
Toppings
Thinly shredded green cabbage
red radishes, thinly sliced
cashew nut ‘sour cream’
fresh cilantro leaves and stems, finely chopped
pickled red or green jalapeños
Method
If you do not have soup stock, start by making about 8 cups with vegetable cut offs or vegetables you have on hand. Strain the stock.
Wash and soak your chickpeas. Leave in a bowl generously covered to soak for 12-24 hours.
The next day, preheat your oven to 200c.
Rinse your chickpeas and pick out any bad beans. Add to an instant pot along with 2 1/2 cups of filtered water and pressure cook for 18 minutes. When finished, leave to slow release.
Wash the tomatoes (or tomatillos) and poblano peppers. Poke a few holes in the poblanos and arrange them with the tomatoes on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Cut one end off an onion and 6 cloves of garlic. Add them both to the baking sheet. Bake at temperature for 20-25 minutes.
Peel and chop the remaining onion and 2 cloves of garlic. Set aside.
When the vegetables have finished roasting, place them in a large, glass container, seal and allow to cool. When you are able to handle the vegetables, peel the tomatoes and garlic and add to a blender jar. Take off the stems, skin and seeds from the poblano peppers. Add three to the blender and chop the remainder. Set aside.
Add 3/4 bunch of cilantro, 2 red chillies, stems removed and sliced and the juice of one lime to the blender. Run until chunky or smooth, whichever you prefer.
Heat up a large dutch oven. Saute the onions for several minutes on a low heat covered. Add the cumin and oregano. If you are using kale, add it in now. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add in the blended roasted vegetables, cooked chickpeas and stock. Bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat, add 2 tsp salt and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Serve in large bowls topped with shredded green cabbage, sliced avocado or a heaping spoonful of cashew nut ‘sour cream, finely chopped cilantro and chopped jalapeno peppers.
Tuck in and enjoy!
