I have started trying something new on the weekends. I have been very spoiled for some time now – my husband has a toy, it is called The Big Green Egg, and Sunday’s are egg day. I am no longer responsible for Sunday night dinners, and haven’t been for a few years. He has taken that responsibility (of course I help with the sides), and I have definitely been benefiting. It allows me to focus on making jam and baking on Sunday, which is absolutely what I love to do.
The other weekend though I had a thought – cooking during the week is hard. We cook every night (we are not a take out family, nor do we go to restaurants on school nights), and let me tell you – after being at work all day, it is hard to get home and then cook a meal from scratch every night. Before we had kids – I would cook every weekend, for the entire week. We worked even more back then, and when we got home at 8pm, we just wanted to be able to throw something in the oven, but still have a home cooked meal. So why don’t I do more of that now? Well, I have limited cooking time, and like I mentioned, I need to save some for jamming and baking.
So, I decided to make one meal over the weekend, that we could warm up later in the week – and I saw this recipe in Cooking Light and thought it would be perfect. It was super easy to make, and it warmed up just perfectly. I think it actually even had a better flavor after letting it sit in the refrigerator for a few days. The pork was so ridiculously tender, and the hominy really softened up. Let’s see if I can actually keep this going…and maybe add another meal in there at some point. I can always dream.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 12 ounces boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 1/2 cup beer
- 2 cups unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
- 1/2 cup salsa verde
- 1 (28-ounce) can hominy, drained
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
- avocado
Preparation
Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add pork; sauté 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove pork from pan, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pan. Add onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Return pork to pan; stir in cumin and pepper. Add beer; bring to a boil. Cook until liquid almost evaporates (about 9 minutes).
Add chicken stock, salsa, and hominy; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour and 10 minutes or until pork is very tender, stirring occasionally. Ladle 1 1/3 cups soup into each of 4 bowls. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon cilantro and avocado.
For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here: Pork Posole
First Look, Then Cook 