Page 17 - THE BOOK BREEZE 1

mexican cuisine

Prepared by Chef Juanito-El Colorado Restaurant

POZOLE is a hearty, thick soup made with pork,
hominy, garlic and chilies. It’s a beloved
traditional dish in Mexico and the U.S.
Southwest. If you’re at all familiar with the Sunday morning cruda that follows a
quince, baptism, wedding or everyday-casual family kickback, you’ll know that
pozole is less food and more magical elixir for hangovers and too much fun. Po-
zole comes from the Nahuatl word pozolli, or posolli, which in English translates
to a stew of maíz kernels, Today, you can find a bowl of pozole at many carnice-
rias or familias’ tables, but it was originally regarded as a meal for the privileged
elite of the Aztec empire. A bit similarly to how it’s served today, the dish is often
made for special occasions.
For the Mexicas, the Nahuatl-speaking indigenous people of the Valley of Mex-
ico who were the rulers of the Aztec Empire, these pozole occasions were to
celebrate: gods, good harvests and changing seasons.
Today, the ritual of eating pozole 500 years ago is pretty similar to how we enjoy
the dish today. Whether you prefer pozole rojo, verde, blanco or whichever of
the other 20 variants of pozole, the pre-colonial ritual celebrated by the Aztec
empire is one that has lasted conquest, assimilation and religious oppression:
We gather, we celebrate, we eat.

2 dried ancho chiles, rinsed, stemmed, seeded
3 dried guajillo chiles, rinsed, stemmed, and
seeded
1/4 cup of chopped white onion
3 chopped garlic cloves
A pinch of ground cumin
2 whole cloves
1 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
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