New Mexico is such a magical place to live.
The mix of Native American, Spanish, and European influences come together in such a way that makes New Mexico one of my most favorite places in the world.
And the food…..oh my the food! Anyone who has ever lived there will tell you the same, the food is simply amazing.
The Rio Grande Pueblo Indians, and their ancestors, the Anasazi, or “ancient ones,” relied on corn, beans, squash, and chiles for their sustenance, and those same ingredients are still used today – especially the chile!
You see in New Mexico, chile isn’t just a vegetable, it’s practically a religion. Its worshipers blend it into everything from to beer to fudge to spa treatments. It even rates an official state question: red or green?
Yes, it’s that good.
And one of my favorite all time dishes, especially around Christmastime, is a great big bowl of New Mexican Posole.
Posole is a spicy corn stew, usually made with pork, and is often served at Christmas as a ceremonial dish to celebrate life’s blessings. New Mexicans have been enjoying posole for centuries.
New Mexican Posole
I wanted to replicate this recipe, vegan style of course, and I thought Soy Curls would fill in nicely for the shredded pork. By adding some homemade Red Chile Sauce and a few more vegetables, this version of Posole blends the taste of traditional New Mexico with the health benefits of a plant-based diet.
I’m not going to lie – this recipe is pretty labor intensive. But the result is totally worth it. I spent the better part of a day making this, and it will yield a large pot of stew, easily enough to feed 12 people.
So if it’s just a few of you at home – know that it does freeze very well.
The Chile
First we’re going to make some Red Chile Sauce and to do that you’ll need some dried New Mexican Chile Pods.
I found mine at my local Walmart so you may need to search around. Be sure and look in the Hispanic Section of your local grocery store – they often have their own spice section and you’ll see the big bags of dried chile pods. Looks for the New Mexico Chiles.
Pick out about 20-25 Chile Pods and give them a quick rinse to remove any dust or seeds. Now pop them into a 250 degree oven for a quick 15-20 minute roast. Your kitchen will soon smell heavenly. Be sure to not let them burn, and give them a flip halfway through.
Meanwhile add about 3-4 quarts of water to a large stockpot and bring it to a boil.
Once the chiles are roasted they will turn a darker color of red. Perfect. Now using kitchen shears cut off the stem tops and remove any seeds and attached membranes.
Those seeds and membranes are where the chiles hold their heat, so avoiding this step could make for some very hot stew.
Also, be very careful handling chiles -their oil is very hot to sensitive areas of our bodies – wear gloves if you’ve never done this before because an accidental rub to the eye will bring excruciating pain – trust me on this – I know.
After removing the seeds, place all your cleaned chiles into the boiling water and turn off the heat. Let them steep for around 30 minutes, occasionally poking the chiles to submerge them.
After 30 minutes, place the chiles and about 2 cups of their soaking water into a blender. Add 2-3 cloves of garlic, a pinch of salt, and about 1/4 tsp of ground cumin and blend thoroughly.
There will still be parts of chile pod and some remaining seeds in the mixture, so we’ll need to strain this into another bowl through a fine sieve. Use a rubber spatula and scrape the pulp around until all the liquid is collected.
You should end up with about 3-4 cups of red chile sauce.
The Meat
Cover them with hot water and I like to add a few dashes of Soy Sauce and some garlic powder for seasoning. I also tried something new, a Chicken Flavored Vegan Broth substitute called Not-Chick’n. It does do a good job of seasoning the soy curls, but only use 1/2 a cube as the sodium content is outrageous.
I found Not Chick’n at my local grocery store in the health food section. I’ll provide an Amazon Link too – and you know the drill – it’s an affiliate link so if you buy it I’ll make a penny or two.
Let this sit while we prepare the stew.
The Stew
Rinse out that stockpot and saute a clove of Garlic, about 1 cup of chopped Leeks (or white onion) and 1 Green Bell Pepper in a little Veggie Broth.
Once the veggies have softened, add in your drained soy curls.
Cook this until the ‘meat’ slightly starts to brown and then add in an 8oz can of Tomato Sauce (no salt added), 1 tsp of ground cumin, 1 Tablespoon of Mexican Oregano (crush it between your palms), and 1 Tablespoon of Parsley.
Give things a stir to combine and add 1 qts (4 cups) of Low Sodium Veggie Broth, 1 qt of water, a bay leaf, a chopped potato, 1-2 cups of the strained chile sauce, depending on how much chile flavor you like, and two 30oz cans of rinsed and drained hominy.
Let that come to a boil and add salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer for at least 30 minutes and serve with some Vegan Sour Cream, hot Corn Tortillas, and avocado.
Mmmmm. I hope you like this as much as I do. I can almost hear the hot air balloons flying overhead right now.
Viva New Mexico!
Photo by nmchilemom.
Prep time: 2 hours
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 2 hours 30 mins
Serves: 12 servings
- 20 New Mexican Red Chile Pods
- 3-4 qts water for steeping
- 2 cups steep water for blending
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- ½ bag Butler Soy Curls
- Hot water for steeping
- 1 Tbls Soy Sauce
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ cube Not Chick'n Boullion
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup Leeks, chopped (can sub white onions)
- 1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
- Drained Soy Curls
- 8oz can Tomato Sauce, no salt added
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 Tbls Mexican Oregano
- 1 Tbls Parsley
- 4 cups Vegetable Broth, low sodium variety
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups Red Chile Sauce (or to taste)
- 1 potato, chopped
- 2 cans 30oz Hominy, rinsed and drained
- 1 Bay Leaf
- Prepare dried chiles by roasting and then removing stems and seeds
- Bring 4 qts water to boil, add cleaned chiles, and turn off heat
- Rehydrate chiles for 30 minutes
- Add chiles and 2 cups steeping water, garlic, and spices to blender
- Blend until smooth
- Strain chile sauce through sieve.
- Prepare Soy Curls by steeping in water and adding spices
- Prepare Stew by sautéing garlic, leeks, and Bell Pepper until softened
- Add drained Soy Curls and cook until slightly browned
- Add tomato sauce and remaining spices and stir until combined
- Add water, vegetable broth, chile sauce, hominy, potato, and bay leaf and bring to a boil.
- Simmer for 30 minutes or so until flavors meld together
- Salt and Pepper to taste