#23: It's Giving SPRING
As dwellers of Canada's most southern latitude, sorry not sorry #team49thparallel
Hey, beanie babies!
Robins are out, the snowdrops are blooming, Spring is here!
As transplants from the flat lands, we’re still in awe. Can spring really be here, this soon? The answer is yes, yes it can be. As island girls for nearly 3 years now, we feel ✨ blessed ✨
Even with the warmer temps, soup is always a good idea. For this reason, we’re featuring a bastardized version of pozole (pronounce po-zol-aye… ayeeeee!) as our fave flav of the week. We discovered this bean-based soup about 2 years ago, long before our first time in Mexico this past fall.
Side bar: People who visit Mexico, like, literally all the time are on to something. From the snowbirds, to the Canadian Geese, to the roughed up Northern Alberta rig workers… they know just how gratifying it is to steep oneself in warm sun and delicious food.
I kick myself for all the years I thought I was more “cultured” traveling to Europe in the summer. Blame it on our Euro-centric culture, or the stereotype of sunburnt bros getting wastey, crushing canned corona at their all-inclusive, but Mexico has so much more to offer than sun, booze, and tacos. Pozole, being one!
This week we also feature one of our fave cookbooks, Salad Freak by Jess Damuck. Damuck worked for crown jewel, Martha Stewart, and it shows. Her recipes are in regular rotation in our kitch’.
So, whether or not your city is giving spring or not, just remember, you can transport yourself to spring vibes via this week’s pozole and greens!
Hugs!
Xo, Tay & Meeks
Monday: Caesar Brussels Sprouts from Salad Freak by Jess Damuck
Tuesday: Veggie Pozole (our Fave Flav!)
Wednesday: Lentils with Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Yogurt from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi
Thursday: Zucchini Ribbons with pecorino, mint, almonds from Salad Freak by Jess Damuck
Friday: It’s a date night!
Saturday: Enchiladas from Bryan Washington
Sunday: Masala Black-Eyed Peas from Zainab Shah
Hot tip: don’t have one of the above cookbooks? Give the goog’ old good a spin, you might be surprised by what you can find!
Fruit & Veg 🍓🥬
Brussels sprouts
Lemons
Zucchini
Mint
Mushrooms
White onion
Garlics
Cabbage
Avocado
Radish
Red onion
Ginger
Tomatoes
Chilis
Cilantro
Cherry tomatoes
Dairy 🥛🧀
Pecorino
Sour cream
Oaxaca cheese
Pantry 🥫
Walnuts
Grainy mustard
Mayo
Capers
Chickpeas
Almonds
Hominy
Veggie broth
Taco chips
Black-eyed peas
Tortillas
Black beans
Refried beans
Green lentils
OSS (Oils, Spices & Sauces) 🍯
EVOO, salt, pepper
White wine vinegar
Dried chilis (guajillo, ancho, pasilla, arbol)
Oregano
Bay leaves
Cumin
Chili powder
Garam masala
AP flour
It’s Pozole!
Holy crap I love this pozole! This recipe has been in the wheelhouse for years - cold weather or drought season, it just really hits home. Something about the warming beans and chilis mixing with sour cream and avocado…. mwah! I can’t believe. This is a very duolingo-esque appropriation of a storied and fabled soup first munched by the Aztecs some 700 years ago, and I know that it ain’t legit. Feel free to call this bastardization every name in the book as you eat bowl after bowl.
Ingredients
Fruit & Veg 🍓🥬
small white onion. diced
2 garlics, minced
2 avocados, thickly sliced for garnish
4-5 radishes, thinly sliced for garnish
100-200g cabbage, thinly sliced for garnish
1-2 limes, wedged for squeezing
Dairy 🥛🧀
Sour cream, for topping if you’d like
Pantry 🥫
3 dried guajillo, deseeded
2 dried ancho, deseeded
2 dried pasilla, deseeded
3 dried chile de arbol, deseeded
Protein 💪
2 cans bean medley
1 can pintos
OSS (Oils, Spices, & Sauces) 🍯
2L veggie broth
salt
2 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
2 glugs EVOO
Approach
Chili mix
Bring a small pot of water to a boil, and add in the dried chilis, onion, and garlic. simmer for a few minutes, until the chilis have rehydrated and the alliums are soft.
Once thickened, blend the mixture with until smooth sauce - thin/thick consistency doesn’t matter so much here, because we can fine tune the overall soup thickness later.
Soupin’
Add the EVOO to a large soup pot, and heat it up. When hot, add in all yo beans and allow the bottom layer to get a little crispy for a few minutes.
Strain the chili mix into the pot. Add in the bay leaf, oregano, and vegetable broth (I used ~1.5L here of broth because my chili mix was quite watery).
Simmer for 30-45 mins, until everything is tender and you’re too hungry to wait! You can add in some more salt along the way if you’d like
Toppin’
While that isht simmers, get your toppings ready. I like to stick with cabbage, radish, avocado, lime, and sour cream, but I’ve also thrown on taco chips, cilantro, and tofu.
When the pozole is done simmering, ladle it out and make that thing beautiful.
Munch!
Post-meal thoughts
This is usually made with hominy - that white corn in the big can. The store didn’t have any this week, so we really leaned into the beans and it was still great. To get a little corn-some, charring some corn (cobbed or frozen) for a topping would be great.
Tajín is a godsend. Pick some up if you don’t have it already!
Depending on spice level, straining the chili mix isn’t necessary. I dumped the whole mix in and it was great - besides, a lil spice doesn’t hurt!
Like many soups/stews, this one gets better the next day. There is likely a very easy way to make this in a slow cooker for you busy-bodies out there!
How’d that recipe go? Share with others what the flip happens when you replace olive oil for ranch — we love to hear it! 🙃