We love to meet and collaborate with people who share our values. Recently, we were fortunate to meet Julie from A Cooking Revolution! When we found out that we could share one of our favorite dishes, Pozole Verde, with her in a cooking session, we were thrilled.
Julie has spent over 10 years teaching cooking lessons for kids and adults. She is a champion for sustainably sourced produce and supports small business owners and farmers by encouraging her followers to shop locally. Most importantly, Julie believes that by sharing our stories over a homecooked meal, all of us can find common ground and bridge social and cultural divides.
Needless to say, we love Julie and her mission! When we were presented with the opportunity to join in on a live cooking session with her, we jumped at the chance.
Why Pozole Verde?
As the guests, Michael and I were in charge of choosing the recipe. We threw around a few ideas and ultimately decided to make Pozole Verde, a traditional Mexican stew made with hominy. Our family typically favors Pozole Rojo during the winter months because of its heartier sauce made with lots of chilis.
Since it’s hot in Texas, and poblanos and tomatillos are in season, we decided to make the lighter and more refreshing verde version. Pozole can be eaten any time of year but has been traditionally served on special occasions since the time of the Aztecs! Michael and I even served it at our wedding.
Fun Fact: The Aztecs believed hominy (corn) to be sacred. With it being a key ingredient in Pozole, it is no wonder that this dish was typically served on special occasions.
Prepping the dish
Before our zoom call, we wanted to prepare the poblanos. Poblano skin is edible, but it is a bit harder to digest for some so we prefer to roast and peel the skins. First, we preheated the oven to 450F. Then we sliced the top from each poblano, removed the seeds, and cut each in half.
The peppers should be laid skins up on a baking sheet and popped in the oven for about 30 minutes. When the skins are blackened and bubbling, they can be taken out and peeled. It should be easy to remove the skins with two forks. Just be sure to do it while they are still hot!
Story-telling and bonding over Pozole Verde
After deciding on a recipe and prepping our ingredients, all that was left was to meet with Julie! During the hour that we spent cooking, we discussed everything from our personal histories to our experiences with various cultural cuisine.
We reminisced over days past when learning how to cook with our families and shared stories about special occasions that were particularly memorable. Michael described how his mother, Debbie, taught him recipes passed down from her in-laws, Armando and Mary. Michael’s grandparents owned a Mexican restaurant next door to our house for years and many of these early memories happened in that very kitchen.
Cultural cuisine for the holidays
We were particularly excited to tell Julie about our Christmas tradition where we recreate an authentic holiday tradition from a specific country and share the food and lessons with our family. Last year we did a German Christmas. Dressed in our trachten, Sarah taught the grandparents German and handed out Lebkuchen while we cooked the duck and bratkartoffeln. You can read all about it in our blog post here.
Hopefully, we can do another cooking session with Julie this Christmas! We would love to share our traditional Italian experience with her and the rest of you. The cooking session was absolutely wonderful, and it was really special that Sarah and Adrian were involved. Sarah told Julie all about how she learned to cook while living in Germany. Adrian mastered his new skill of waving at the stranger in the silly box.
A Quick Goodbye
I really enjoyed writing about this experience. Julie’s mission is inspiring and we fully endorse the work that she does. We talked about an ideal future where we can join forces and travel to a distant place to cook with, learn from, and serve a local community. We eagerly hope this dream comes true! Check out the recipe below and let us know how you like our cultural cuisine. Maybe next time, Michael can introduce us all to some more of his grandparent’s tasty recipes. Let me tell you…they are delicious!
Don’t forget to follow Julie at A Cooking Revolution. You can find her Facebook page here. The latest updates for all things Novel Excursion are below, as usual. We urge you to sign up for our mailing list to stay in the know.
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Think big. Act small. Travel with Purpose.
Happy (Mindful) Travels,
Amanda
Pozole Verde Recipe
Sauce
- 10 tomatillos (approx. 1 lb)
- 2 poblano peppers
- 2 onions, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- ½ bunch cilantro
- Heat oven to 450 degrees F.
Husk, rinse, and de-stem tomatillos. Rinse, de-stem, and remove seeds from poblanos, then slice. Put on a baking sheets and roast tomatillos for 15 minutes and poblanos for 30 minutes. Cool slightly and peel poblanos. Add roasted tomatillos and poblanos to a blender along with onion, garlic, and cilantro. Blend well. Set aside for later.
Broth
- 8 cups water or chicken stock
- 1+ lb. chicken (bone-in or boneless)
- ½ onion
- ¼ bunch cilantro
- Pinch of salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
Recipe by Amanda and Michael Camarillo
8 servings
While roasting vegetables, add chicken to a soup pot with water/stock, onion, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Remove chicken and shred, setting aside for later. Strain broth, reserving liquid.
- Olive oil
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Black pepper
- 1-2 cans hominy (28 oz. can), drained and rinsed
Add oil to the soup pot and heat. Add pureed sauce and cook for a few minutes. Next, add shredded chicken, reserved broth, oregano, salt, and pepper. Add hominy to the pot. Cook until everything is heated through. Serve in a bowl with desired toppings.
Toppings
- Sour cream
- Sliced radishes
- Chopped onion
- Sliced jalapeno
- Cilantro
- Lime
Explore! San Antonio: Your Culture Guide to Educational & Service-Oriented Travel. It is available on Amazon, Lulu, and on our website’s shop. As always, 10% of our profits will go to our Cause of the Month. September is ChildFund and October is the Children’s Chorus of San Antonio.