Comfort food.
This week, for me, it's been pozole, especially green pozole.
According to drizzlemeskinny.com, Pozole is a truly ancient recipe, thought to originate in the Aztec empire before the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadores, and could be even older than that. As you might expect from such an old recipe, there are a lot of different variations and takes on Pozole, and almost every family has their own recipe for the meal. That said, almost all of them rely on a couple of different things, a flavorful (and hot) combination of stewed chilies, and pork or chicken, with hominy.
Lots of folks think that pozole and menudo are the same, not. I'd say they were more like cousins.
Menudo is a much more recent soup out of Mexico, though it's difficult to know exactly where Menudo comes from. Menudo is one of the many amazing dishes that was born out of hardship and is a dish of the working class first and foremost. What is menudo? It's similar to pozole in spices and ingredients, with one big exception. Instead of pork or chicken, menudo calls for a very specific protein, beef tripe. That's actually part of how we know that menudo was likely created by and for workers because beef tripe is one of the least popular parts of a beef cow, but it's a great source of protein and nutrients. That means that beef tripe was affordable, effective for nutrition and energy, and widely available. (source: drizzlemeskinny.com)
I have never been a fan of the texture of tripe and, while it gives menudo it's awesome flavor, I will not eat it. Green pozole made with chicken and green chile is EXACTLY what I need when I feel "off", when I'm trying to fight off a cold, when I'm super tired, when I've been hungover, or whenever it's there, I could be full and still want pozole. Team Pozole all the way.
Just like a few minutes ago. I have a 'to-do' list this long and I couldn't concentrate anymore because of hunger. I found an awesome place less than 5 minutes away and got my fix of spicy, green, delicious pozole. I had originally ordered it to go, got there, and promptly asked for a bowl. Cleared my head and sinuses, I'm good to go for a while longer.
What is YOUR go to comfort food?
#52EssaysNextWave 9/52 #52SlicesOfChingonaLife
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