Spicy Pork Posole

Recipe taken from:
Self Magazine, Feb. 2010

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 oz pork tenderloin, halved lengthwise
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 3 cups canned hominy (about 3 cans, 15 oz each), drained
• 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 small head green cabbage, cut into ribbons
• 8 radishes, sliced
• 1/2 medium avocado, sliced
• 1 jalapeño chile, sliced

PREPARATION:
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle tenderloin with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper and cook until meat no longer sticks to pot, about 2 minutes. Turn and repeat on other side, then remove and slice into 1/4-inch strips.

Add onion and garlic to pot; reduce heat to medium-low. Add remaining 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is transparent, 15 to 20 minutes; reduce heat as needed to keep from burning. During last minute of cooking, stir chili powder into onion mixture.

Return meat to pot, along with hominy, broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes.

Add cabbage, cover and cook another 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Divide stew among 4 bowls; serve garnished with radishes, avocado and jalapeño.

Notes & Tips:
First, this is not that spicy, unless you the fresh jalapeño. I didn't use any in my bowl, I used almost a whole one in Mat's, he said it might have been a bit much for him. I did use a little bit of crushed red pepper in the broth though. Also, the recipe says it serves 4, they would be 4 VERY large bowls...so it's probably more like serves 6. I was a little skeptacle at first because of how much hominy this recipe calls for, but I really liked it in the soup. It made the soup really filling. One last thing, I couldn't find the bay leaves so...I guess we ate them, oh well. I served this with wheat crackers.

Rating:
Very Good

Nutrition Facts:
Serves 4 (VERY BIG BOWLS)
285 calories per serving, 10.2 g fat (1.9 g saturated), 35 g carbs, 9 g fiber, 14 g protein

Photo Credit:
www.self.com