Caldillo-Posole

Elsewhere in this work you will find the recipe for La Posta Caldillo † and for my Holy Molé Frijole Posole †. Both of these fine dishes have been the principle fare at the Tausworthe Annual Holiday Celebration, usually held sometime during the winter holiday season to about 30-40 neighbors and guests. In 2008, I amalgamated the two recipes for that gathering, just to give a little further variety to the experience. All in attendance signaled two thumbs up.

• 6½ lb pork, cubed in bite-sized pieces
• 2 lb pork chorizo
• 1 lb trimmings from an unglazed smoke cured ham (skin, rendered fat, etc.), in bite-sized pieces
• 6 large onions, chopped
• 40 cloves garlic, smashed and minced.
• 6 lb fresh posole (mix yellow and blue if you can find them)
• 3 (27-oz) cans mild chopped green chile
• 1 (27-oz) can green enchilada sauce
• 2 lb mushrooms, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• ½ head red cabbage, shredded
• 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
• 6 stalks celery, cubed
• 2 qts chicken stock
• ½ lb carrots, peeled and cubed
• 4 tsp dried leaf oregano
• 4 tsp dried powdered cumin
• 2 tsp dried powdered coriander
• 1 (14-oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (14-oz) can garbanzo beans
• 8 oz frozen butter beans

The above amounts were divided equally in two large stockpots. Combine pork, chorizo, and ham trimmings and cook until the pork is browned. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onion is limp. Put everything else in the pot(s) and cook for one hour.

Serve and garnish as described in the Holy Molé Frijole Posole recipe †.

Makes 45 servings.

Green Chile Cheese Veggieburger Posole ¶

I made this recipe as the lacto-vegan featured entreé of the 2015 TWHC†. It is essentially the same as its lacto-carnivore counterpart, Green Chile Cheeseburger Posole†, so only the salient differences appear here. The garnishes and sides are the same, and thus not repeated.

• 3 tbsp olive oil instead of olive oil spray
• 8 cups textured vegetable protein (TVP) instead of ground beef
• 12 cups vegetable stock instead of consommé

Put the olive oil in the large stock pot and turn on the heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery and sauté until the onions begin to brown. Add the TVP and 8 cups of the stock, bring to a simmer, and turn off the heat. Allow the TVP to absorb the liquid for about 5 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients and stir until uniformly mixed. Pause the preparation at this point until the rest of the meal has been prepared.

Proceed to heat and serve as described in the carnivorous version.

Serves about 30.