Mary's Green Tomato & Pork Pozole

Meet John and Mary Ofjord. They are our kind neighbors. We like to honor the barter system with our neighbors. Our latest barter: Jeremy and I helped unload and stack over 200 bales of hay. In return, I get Mary's Green Tomato Pozole recipe. They are really good at bartering. I am terrible, but I do have this new recipe to put all of my green tomatoes to good use. Plus we get to spend time with our unique and gifted neighbors who have the most amazing Norwegian Fjord horses.

The Fjord horses frolicking through the snow.

Aren't the beautiful? And they live right across the road! My daughter loves to watch the sun rise over their pasture while she battles it out with buttery toast at the breakfast table. It's a very unique view! And it's not that my daughter hates buttery toast, it's just that she strongly dislikes moving in any sort of progressive motion before the bus arrives at the end of our driveway each morning. The view helps the struggle.

\So about that recipe? I made it the very next day of the hay bale marathon. Pozole is an irresistible pork and hominy stew. It has the same comforting affect as a homey bowl of chicken noodle soup, but with spices to warm you. I love it for it's simplicity. I am wowed by it's flavors. The green tomatoes add a tartness and acidity that balances the richness of the pork. Garnish with fresh cilantro, scallions, and lime wedges for a super bowl of goodness to enjoy in front of the fire place!

Mary's Green Tomato & Pork Pozole

4 cups green tomatoes, diced

2 lbs boneless pork shoulder cut into 1 inch cubes

1 medium onion, chopped

Olive Oil for the pan

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp cumin ( I doubled the amount. Sorry Mary!)

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 fresh jalapenos, seeded and minced

2- 15 ounce cans white hominy, drained and rinsed

2- 14 ounce cans chicken stock, or the equivalent in homemade stock

juice of 1 lime, plus lime wedges for garnish

fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish

salt to taste

Garnishes:

Grated radish

Grated Pepper jack cheese

Sour Cream or Yogurt

Minced Onion or Scallions

Lime wedges

Cilantro

Mary says: With a lot of green tomatoes left over at the end of the season, I was trying to find new ways to use them up. Fried green tomatoes are not my thing and you can only use so much green tomato relish around the house. Since I've had a difficult time growing enough tomatillos (the traditional ingredient for Pozole) to make Pozole, a green pork stew which I dearly love, I tried making it with the green tomatoes instead. Some green tomatoes are not quite as acidic tasting as the tomatillos, so you will need to add lime juice to balance the tartness, but taste the stew first as some tomatoes are more tart than others. 

To make Mary's Pozole:

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pan. Brown the cubes of pork in batches. The better the pork is browned, the richer the taste of the finished stew. Set the browned meat aside.

Next add the onions and garlic to the pan and saute until the onions are translucent. Be sure not to scorch the garlic. Add the tomatoes, oregano, cumin, jalapenos, stock, and the browned meat. You can mash up the tomatoes, if necessary. Bring the stew to a boil, then cover and turn down the heat to a low simmer until the meat is tender- about 45 minutes to an hour. If your tomatoes are still in large pieces, take them out with a slotted spoon and process them in the food processor.

Once the meat is tender, add the two cans of hominy, the cilantro and the lime juice. You may want to taste the stew before adding the lime juice if your tomatoes were tart. Add salt (I added about a teaspoon), and heat to serve, topping with desired garnishes. Serves about 4-6 depending on who you have over for dinner!

Belly Up!!