Posole

The beauty of working in a kitchen is the everchanging melting pot of flavors that come from all the cultures we work with. I've been craving some "posole" for awhile now and asked Juan (a talented cook from Mexico) to whip some up for the day. A few hours later, Juan dropped a big bowl of steaming "red chile posole" on my desk. The bowl was filled with chunks of stewed pork, shredded cabbage, hominy, and lemon wedges. For those that don't know, Posole is a stew that originated in Jalisco, Mexico and is commonly served during Christmas time. It's an easy dish to make that can feed lots of people on a low budget, (perfect for this economy). He started off boiling some pork covered with water, a chopped onion, and garlic cloves. In a separate pan, he boiled some dried red chiles, onion, garlic, and water until it was all tender. After pureeing the chile mixture in a blender, it was added to the simmering pork and cooked for another hour. The soup was seasoned with salt and lemon and served with fresh cabbage slaw. Yesterday we all enjoyed a yellow chicken curry for staff meal and today it's posole. More than often, this industry can be very fulfilling when it comes to satisfaction. There is nothing like a light broth with hints of chile and lemon on a cool day.