Chef Matt Steigerwald, Lincoln Café, Mount Vernon, Iowa
When I first moved to Iowa from North Carolina, I hosted a neighborhood dinner for potential restaurant investors and local bigwigs to gather and see if this Midwest newbie could actually cook. There was a lot riding on this meal. I wanted a dish that would show off the bold, fresh flavors I planned to feature at my restaurant. But I also needed to prove myself as a host, so I couldn't get stuck standing over the stove all night. Since it was early spring and not peak growing season — especially in Iowa — I also needed a dish with transitional power. So I made this Mexican chicken posole, a way to welcome spring while still offering the comfort of a warming one-pot soup. Ten years later, I'm still here.
Although posole is classically prepared with pork shoulder, I substituted a great local Iowa bird to make the broth, and I used the picked, chopped meat to anchor the dish itself. (You can use a quality preroasted chicken and store-bought stock.) Although it's too early in the growing season to find local chiles, you can create heat by blending two basic styles of peppers: low notes from canned smoky chipotle and herbal flavors from fresh green jalapeño, available in supermarkets year-round. (Serve your favorite hot sauce on the table to accommodate the masochistic.) If you can score some of spring's early radishes, their peppery brightness will wake up your palate from winter's root vegetables, and you can also fold the chopped green tops into the soup at the last minute. The hominy is both a southern tradition and a nod to the growing power of my new midwestern home, delivering the slightly toasty sweetness of corn when it isn't even in season. You get even more Iowa flavor if you garnish this soup with popcorn. Plus, it floats.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp canola oil
- Vegetable mix: 1 large yellow onion, chopped (about 3 cups); 1 poblano chile, deseeded and chopped; 1 large sweet red pepper, deseeded and chopped; 2 cups chopped kale; 1 large jalapeño, chopped with seeds; 8 garlic cloves, rough chopped; 10 small cremini mushrooms, quartered
- Spice mix: 1 tbsp ground cumin, ¼ tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper, 1 tbsp coarse salt, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp orange zest
- 1 chipotle chile (from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce), chopped
- 1 tbsp adobo sauce (from chipotle-chile can)
- 2 14.5-oz cans white hominy, rinsed in colander under gently running cool water
- 1 14.5-oz can chopped tomatoes (with juice)
- 5 cups chicken stock
- Meat from one 3 ½-lb roasted chicken, chopped (about 4 cups)
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 6 chopped scallions
- 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
Garnish:
- 6 oz goat cheese, crumbled
- 2 avocados, sliced
- 12 small radishes, quartered
- 12 warmed flour tortillas
Instructions
Place canola oil in a six-quart stockpot over medium heat until warm. Add vegetable mix and cook until softened or onion begins to color, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spice mix, chopped chipotle, and adobo sauce. Turn heat to high and stir for one minute or until aromatic.
Add hominy, tomatoes, and chicken stock. Bring to boil, cover pot, and lower heat to simmer until flavors marry and soup is thickened, 30 minutes.
Add chopped chicken, adjust heat to bring to boil, and then lower to simmer for 15 minutes.
Stir in cilantro, scallions, and lime juice. Distribute to bowls and garnish with goat cheese, avocados, and radishes. Serve with warm tortillas and hot sauce on the table.
Serves 6.
As told to Francine Maroukian
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