Winter Soups with Tradition I - Posole

I mentioned the possibility of recycling some old food columns here, as fillers until life settles down. The first three posts I'm using are from a Holiday Soups issue from my old Foodeez! column. Sorry to resort to this, but they're good recipes and useful info. Hope you enjoy them.

Hearty, warming soups are some of the rewards of surviving the chills and ills of winter. This time of year, for those of us on the cold weather part of the cycle, soups are thicker, richer and as comforting as a warm blanket. Three of those soups are traditional holiday fare in various cultures - Posole, Gumbo and Groundnut Soup. I'm going to do all three, but each on a separate day. I should have done this before Christmas, but it's been pretty crazy for me, lately. This installment, I'm giving you Posole.

Posole is a hearty, zesty soup common to the U.S. Southwest and Latin America. It’s heart is plain old hominy, but in this wonderful combination, even if you think you don’t like hominy, you’ll love it. This is an easy version, taking advantage of canned products you can buy at the supermarket. It uses red enchilada sauce, rather than cooking the dried peppers, and canned broth to save precious time when you’re already stressed from too much to do. Half an hour, including cooking time, is about all it should take.

The trad meat for this is pork, but you can use just about anything, really, even a white fleshed fish would probably be good (but add it toward the end so it doesn't disintegrate). You could add some greens, if you like, or some other veggies, to your preference. Use either golden or white hominy - I even substituted garbanzos (cecis) once when I was desperate.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Shredded turkey
• large can Red enchilada sauce
• large can Hominy
• 1 qt Broth (chicken, vegetable or turkey)
• 2-4 cloves Garlic, minced
• pinch Basil or oregano
• to taste Salt and pepper
• Optional Cornmeal for thickening

Instructions:
Simmer until all ingredients are heated through. If you have a little finely ground cornmeal, you can stir in a couple of tablespoons as a thickening agent a few minutes before you're ready to serve.

Spoon into bowls. Garnish with sour cream/crema, a sprinkling of grated cheese, or sliced green onions. Serve with warmed tortillas or a nice crusty bread.