Since this is my first entry, I suppose I should start with
the first dish I learned how to cook.
Learning how to cook is truly a magical experience! In my opinion, it’s
the one of the first steps into adulthood; there is something so independent
about that special moment when you learn how to prepare something to nourish
yourself. I still remember my mother, pulling an egg out of her refrigerator,
taking out a pan and spatula, and showing me how to cook it on her olive green
stove. At eight years old, I felt
so grown up and accomplished.
Years later and after many eggs, my mother taught me how to
cook my first complete dish- Pozole; it’s an incredibly easy dish and very
delicious!
Photography
by Linda Harrison, The Anthropological Chef blogspot.com ©
Pozole is a soup that hails from the lovely country of
Mexico, specifically with Aztecan roots. It is a brothy soup usually composed
of some type of meat protein (chicken or pork), and one of the most important
crops for the Aztecs—Maize (Hominy). In short, Hominy is Maize that has gone
through the nixtamalization process. Maize derives from Teosinte; a grass root
that originated in Mexico that can directly attribute its genetic evolution to
human selection.
Early humans genetically altered the plant by selecting and
breeding it to enhance certain characteristics about 10,000 years ago. They
targeted color, taste, and kernel size. Maize was then later spread out by early humans from Mexico into
Central America and up into North America. Maize has played an essential part in the physical
nourishment of all early American cultures and has always been tied to their
spiritual traditions. For the Aztecs,
maize (Cintli in Nahuatl – the Aztec language) was brought down to
earth by Quetzalcoatl as a gift to humans. Every crop season they would hold a
great celebration in honor of their maize deity; Centeotl or Chicomecoatl.
Maize was one of the Aztecan three sister crops, squash,
beans and maize. The three crops
provided three basic nutritional needs, carbohydrates (Corn), Protein (Beans),
Vitamins and essential oils (Squash). These crops were planted together in
Chinampas (floating gardens), and were highly valued since they nourished the entire
population.
The Aztecs used Maize in many different ways, but it all
started with the nixtamalization process. Nixtamalization starts by soaking the dried Maize kernels in
lye or wood ash. This process
served a couple of purposes, it soften the kernels making them edible and more
easily digestible and even more importantly it allow for the release of the full
nutritional value of Maize, specifically niacin- the nixtamalization process
allowed the large population of native Americans and Meso-Americans to be
heavily dependent on maize for their daily nutritional needs.
Photography
courtesy of www.los-dos.com ©
Pozole was a festive dish. The Aztecs would boil hominy
(Maize gone through the Niximalization process) in a soup, not too different
from what it is now. However, instead of the contemporary usage of chicken or
pork, the Aztecs originally used human flesh, from their human sacrifices. Cannibalism and the Aztecs: the Aztecs
practiced Cannibalism, however; it was solely done for spiritual purposes and
only the elite of their society were allowed to partake in this tradition. It was by no means a manner in which
they nourished themselves on a daily basis. Later on, when the Spaniards and Catholic monks arrived to
colonize and convert the Aztecs, the human flesh was replaced with a different a
protein, pork. The Aztecs favored
pork as a viable stead since they felt that it tasted most like human meat. Bacon anyone?
Today, Pozole is a staple in Mexican cuisine with a few
variations- most commonly; there is a red, white and green pozole. Pozole is
typically served with diced onion, sliced cabbage, crushed dried oregano and
some type of tostada, but I have also seen people use sliced avocado and even
queso fresco.
Photographs
courtesy of ©sdcitybeat.com and © www.caramellcatering.com
Below is the recipe I learned as a child, with an additional
step if you wish to use the more traditional dried chiles vs. the chili powder. Buen approvecho!
Photography
by Linda Harrison, The Anthropological Chef blogspot.com ©
Basic Pozole Recipe
· 2lbs of chicken or pork ( 1
tablespoon of vegetable oil, if using bone-less, skinless chicken breast)
· 8 cups of water
· 2 bouillon cubes
· Salt to taste
· 3 cans of hominy (15oz) rinse and
drained.
· 6 garlic cloves smashed or finely
chopped
· 5 dried California Anaheim Chiles or
3 tablespoons of dried chili powder (to taste)
Toppings:
· ½ cup dried crushed oregano
· 1 chopped white onion
· 3 cups of shredded chopped cabbage
· Radishes (slices)
· Lime wedges
· Tostadas (Baked or fried)
Additional
step if using dried Anaheim Chiles:
Using a medium saucepan, boil dried whole chiles in enough water to
submerse them, boil until rehydrated and soft. Pull chiles out of saucepan and puree them in blender. Place puree in wired sleeve to separate
seeds from puree. Hold puree in
bowl until you are ready to use.
Boil 2lbs of
your choice of protein in large pot with water, bouillon cubes, and garlic, add
oil if using skinless chicken breast. Boil until protein is fully cooked; pull
out of liquid (liquid is your stock, don’t dump out!!) and set aside to cool.
Drain and
rinse hominy and place into the large pot with stock and return to cook on
medium heat.
Add either
puree or 3 tablespoons of dried chili powder to hominy and stock. Stir with
Ladle to incorporate into broth.
Once protein
is cool enough to handle, shred (debone, if necessary) cooked protein by hand. Return to pot.
Continue to
boil soup until hominy is tender approximately 30 minutes.
Serve hot
with a pinch of dried oregano, one tablespoon of diced white onion, some
shredded cabbage and a couple of lime wedges.
References:
Linda Civitello;
“Cuisine
& Culture, A History of Food and People”; 3rd Edition,
March 29th, 2011
University
of Utah- Learn Genetics “The Evolution of Corn”; www.learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/selection/corn/
Cronica.com.mx,
“Los
mexicanos prehispanicos comian pozole con carne humana”; http://www.cronica.com.mx/notas/2007/317065.html
