Beans and Peas Recipe ⟶ Vegetarian Pozole Verde (Hominy Soup)

This recipe is my vegetarian adaptation of Pozole Verde: Hominy and Meat Soup with Green Herbs from 'A Cook's Tour of Mexico' by Nancy Zaslavsky. It's a great way to use up all the tomatillos and greens that we tend to get in our CSA boxes in the Pacific Northwest. This soup is great topped with a quick red onion pickle and crumbled cotija cheese.

Ingredients

• ½ pound dried pinto beans
• ½ cup vegetable oil, divided
• 8 ounces raw shelled pumpkin seeds
• 1 pound tomatillos - husked, cored, chopped
• 10 serrano peppers, chopped
• 1 bunch arugula leaves, chopped
• 10 leaves fresh spinach, chopped
• 10 leaves Boston lettuce, chopped
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 quarts vegetable stock, or more as needed
• 2 (29 ounce) cans white hominy, drained and rinsed
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

Cooking Directions

1. Place pinto beans in a large stock pot with water to cover; let soak, 8 hours to overnight. Drain.
2. Cover the beans with about 3 inches water and cook over medium-low heat until tender, 35 to 40 minutes. Drain.
3. Heat 1/4 cup vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add pumpkin seeds; cook and stir until light brown and popping, about 6 minutes. Let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
4. Pour pumpkin seeds and oil into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Add 1/2 the tomatillos, serrano peppers, arugula, spinach, lettuce, parsley, and cilantro into the blender. Puree until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat with remaining tomatillos, serrano peppers, arugula, spinach, lettuce, parsley, and cilantro.
5. Heat remaining 1/4 cup oil in a deep pot. Add the tomatillo sauce carefully. Simmer, stirring with a wooden spoon, until thickened, about 30 minutes.
6. Pour pinto beans, vegetable stock, and hominy into the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Let simmer, uncovered, until flavors are thoroughly blended, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Nutrition Facts

• calories563.1
• carbohydrateContent58.7 g
• fatContent30.3 g
• fiberContent12.9 g
• proteinContent18.4 g
• saturatedFatContent5.1 g
• sodiumContent753 mg
• sugarContent7.8 g