Vegetarian Posole

I got an awesome gift for Christmas: dried blue posole from Rancho Gordo.

I had never cooked posole before. In fact, I hadn't even eaten it, because local versions always include some meat.

But I found a recipe for vegetarian posole on the Rancho Gordo website, and dove right in.

(If you have not visited their site, it's worth it just for the photos of their beautiful dried heirloom beans - real bean porn. Then you'll probably feel the need to buy some of their beans, and then you will have the foundation of many wonderful meals.)

Posole, like hominy, is corn that is dried, then cooked, then treated with calcium hydroxide (lime) so the skins come off when they're rubbed. The corn is then dried again. This is a traditional process that makes dried corn - hominy, posole - that cooks up into a fabulous thick soup.

This is a soup with endless varieties. Start with the dried posole and some dried beans. Add a few vegetables. Simmer it all together and you'll have a fabulous stick-to-the-ribs meal. Serve it with warm corn tortillas for pure heaven.

I used zucchini in my posole even though it's winter. My freezer is full of blanched diced zucchini from plants that grew vigorously in my garden last summer. I grew four seeds of the Italian heirloom Trombetta di Albenga, and the vines romped up and over my rain barrels, through the fig tree and the neighbor's yucca, producing yard-long zucchinis that were tender and delicious, but a little overwhelming to this family of two. Fortunately, zucchini freezes well, so we've been enjoying it this winter in soups and stews like this one.

If you do not have a freezer full of zucchini, you could use green beans in this recipe instead.

Vegetarian Posole
1 cup Rancho Gordo dried blue posole
1 cup dried yellow beans (or pinto or other heirloom beans)
1 1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp red chile powder (the kind that is pure chile)
1 1/2 tsp cumin seed
3/4 tsp dried Mexican oregano
1 tbsp oil
1 1/2 to 3 cups diced zucchini
14 oz can chopped tomatoes, drained
cilantro and warm corn tortillas to serve

Soak the posole in water to cover for 6 hours. Drain. Cook in plenty of fresh water, simmering but not boiling, for about 2 hours until tender.

Meanwhile, rinse the beans and put them in water to cover by a couple of inches. Let soak for 6 hours, then pour them with their water into a large pot. Do not drain them.

To the beans in their soaking water, add the vegetable stock and enough water to cover the beans by 2 inches. Bring to the boil and simmer until the beans are tender, an hour or two depending on the age of the beans. Do not drain. Turn off the heat and set aside until the posole is ready.

Sauté the onion, garlic, chile powder, cumin seed and dried oregano in the oil until tender, about 7 minutes. Add the zucchini and tomatoes. Cook another 5 minutes.

Add the cooked vegetables to the pot of beans. Then stir in the drained posole. Simmer about 30 minutes, adding water if it's too thick.

Serve in bowls, sprinkled with cilantro, with warm corn tortillas on the side.

Serves many. Fortunately it freezes well.

This zucchini grew on top of my rain barrel, which is why it has this great shape.