Sunday, November 02, 2008
Food, Recipes
This side of the border
Southwestern soup at Agave Restaurant
Moye Colquitt By Jack Sobel
My memories of growing up in Albuquerque, N.M., are definitely happy ones, full of exciting Southwestern cuisine I used to enjoy. The most memorable food experiences happened around Christmastime, when everyone would gather at each other’s houses, with bright luminarias outlining their landscapes. One dish in particular that was always present during celebrations was posole, a New Mexico holiday dish served on Christmas Eve. Most authentic Southwestern eateries in New Mexico carry the dish year-round. However, it’s almost sinful not to have it available on Christmas. There are many variations of this dish, and most Mexicans prefer the white—or blanco—posole to the red. But the majority of native New Mexicans will serve the bright red variety. After an endless search for this style of cuisine more than eight years ago in Atlanta, I felt it was time to open an alternative to the city’s endless Tex-Mex options. I started testing posole and red chili mussels in an alternate kitchen in early 2000, and earlier the same day, I read an article in Sante magazine on the current agave tequila shortage. That night, the concept of Agave restaurant was formulated, and we opened a few months later on Friday the 13th in October 2000.
Posole, a popular starter on our menu, is basically a spicy braised pork and corn stew known as a ceremonial dish for celebrating life’s blessings. New Mexicans have been enjoying posole for centuries, and the cuisine is classic for Native Americans who relied on many of the ingredients in posole for sustenance. SP
Jack Sobel is the executive chef and owner of Agave Restaurant. 242 Boulevard SE. 404-588-0006. www.agaverestaurant.com.
NEW MEXICAN RED POSOLE
Serves 8
RED POSOLE
Ingredients:
- 1 pound pork shoulder or Boston butt, trimmed of fat
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 pound dried hominy, soaked overnight and drained (may substitute 2 16-ounce cans hominy, drained)
- 1 quart guajillo sauce
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons dried Mexican oregano
- 2 quarts water
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- ¼ cup freshly chopped cilantro
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sprinkle pork with salt, pepper and garlic and cover with aluminum foil. Bake until browned and cooked through, about 1 hour. Let cool. Hand shred the pork.
Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat, and add onion and garlic cloves. Sauté until onion is translucent. Add shredded pork loin, and brown for three to four minutes. Add remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil for four to five minutes and then reduce to simmer. Simmer for one hour. Let cool, and refrigerate. This soup tastes better the day after it’s made.
GUAJILLO SAUCE
Ingredients:
- 12 ounces dried guajillo chilies or New Mexico red chilies
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 1 large red tomato, roughly chopped
- 1 quart water
Instructions:
Place all guajillo sauce ingredients in a stockpot, and bring to a boil for five minutes. Reduce to simmer for 30 minutes. Let cool. Puree in a blender. Press through a fine mesh colander to produce a fine thin sauce.
Assemble lime wedges, crushed blue tortilla chips and flour tortillas. Gently reheat soup. Squeeze juice from two lime wedges into each serving, and sprinkle with blue corn tortilla chips. Serve with a garnish of hot flour tortillas on the side.