I love a good spicy soup. Anything that gives me heat in two ways is very welcome as temps start to drop here in Texas. Better known as “pozole rojo con carne”, spicy red posole with beef, is a delicious soup made for the winter. As I write, it’s the beginning of December, and it’s just now starting to get cold in Texas (if you count low 60s temps as cold, ha). Because I’ve been freezing in my house, all I’ve been wanting is a huge bowl of spicy, warm soup.
What is Posole (Pozole)?
Posole is a traditional Mexican soup, typically cooked with hominy and pork or chicken. I’ve had it a few ways, and it’s always delicious. I decided to change this one up, and knew ground beef could stand up to a tomato based, spicier version of the traditional preparation.
Let’s Talk Vegetables
If you’ve never had hominy, it’s made of maize (corn), but is kind of like corn’s blown up, softer cousin. I love the pillow-like texture it adds to the soup, almost like little tiny dumplings. It’s not posole without the hominy! Chandler prefers straight up corn kernels, though, so I always add a can in for him. I also like that this soup also has zucchini in it– extra vegetables (we always need those) and extra texture. Really, you can add any additional vegetables you want. In my home, posole is the soup to throw in any ingredients left behind. I generally don’t have two posoles that are the same.
To Serve
Spicy red posole with beef is best served with some cooling ingredients, like sour cream or avocado to balance out the spice. I also like adding just a squeeze of lime juice, and some cilantro to cut through the rich beef and broth. So delicious!
Let me know if you try this recipe below in the comments!
Spicy Red Posole (Pozole) with Beef
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 yellow onion small
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ zucchini large (or one small)
- 2 poblano peppers
- 1 8 oz can tomato sauce no salt added
- 1 15.5 oz can yellow hominy
- 1 15 oz can whole kernel corn
- 2 oz diced green chilies
- 4 c chicken broth
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp pepper
Instructions
Prep Vegetables
- Finely dice onion & set aside. Finely mince garlic & set aside. Dice zucchini into ⅛-¼" cubes & set aside.
- Cut poblanos in half, lengthwise and remove seeds and stem. Place them, skin side up, on a prepared baking sheet. Broil in the oven until skin is charred. Remove from oven and transfer to a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let steam for 5 minutes. Once cool enough to touch, peel the skin off of the peppers and transfer peeled peppers to a food processor. Set aside.
For the Soup
- In a stock pot, brown your beef over medium heat. Remove from pot and set aside.
- Add onions to the stock pot and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- While the onions cook, add tomato sauce to your food processor with the poblano peppers. Blend until smooth & set aside.
- Add beef back to the pot along with garlic, tomato paste, and spices and cook until garlic is soft and spices are fragrant and toasted, about 3 minutes.
- Add your tomato and poblano blend to the pot, along with chicken broth, corn, hominy, zucchini, and green chilies.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes.
- To serve, top with a squeeze of lime, cilantro, sour cream, and avocado.
