Foodsday Tuesday: Stay Warm; Eat Soup

Anyone else noticed how damn cold it is outside?

At least it's beginning to feel like December. We were getting a little worried there for a while. But is it too much to ask for a high over, say 32? Just so that the ice on the sidewalks can melt?

I digress.

It's cold outside. And one of my favorite ways to warm up when it's freezing out is with something that's both spicy and soupy. My personal favorite is a tortilla soup/pozole hybrid that I've been perfecting over the years and recently seem to have gotten right. At least, the twenty or so people who tried it at my house a couple of weeks ago thought so. The recipe, approximately, is below. I made two large pots worth, so it's hard to scale it down to "normal" serving size. My suggestion is just that you get extra of all the ingredients and add a little of this, a little of that, until it tastes right to you. Also note that you can make this recipe vegetarian simply by omitting the chicken and substituting vegetable broth for chicken.

Mexican Chicken Soup with Hominy
2 cans (about four servings) low-sodium chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (Use Ro-Tel if you can find it. Trust me.)
1 can diced tomatoes with jalapeños (Or, if you're afraid of spiciness, use two cans of tomatoes with green chilies.)
1 can white corn hominy, rinsed and separated
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
Half a jar (give or take) red salsa of your desired spiciness
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 fresh jalapeño, cut into rings, for garnish (optional)
Cilantro, stems removed, for garnish (optional)
Grated colby-jack or four-cheese Mexican blend cheese (unseasoned), for garnish (optional)

Combine all ingredients except for salt and pepper and garnish in soup pot. Stir and cover, then simmer over low heat for at least 90 minutes. (To accelerate the process, turn the mixture up to a rolling boil for 10 minutes, then reduce heat and cover, allowing to simmer for 45 minutes. Be warned, though, that the chicken can get chewy this way.) Add salt and pepper during cooking rather than at the beginning—hominy is quite salty, so you may decide no additional seasoning is needed once it's flavored the soup.

When ready to serve, garnish with jalapeño, cheese, cilantro, or any other garnishes you'd like. (Sour cream, fried tortilla strips, and additional salsa also work great, but they didn't make it into the soup pictured here, so they're not listed above.)

Extra soup may be frozen in a tightly-sealed container for a month or longer. (I wouldn't recommend keeping it for longer than two months, but that's me.)

Enjoy, and stay warm out there!

Photo by author. Re-mixed with Photoshop for festive holiday fun.