By Susan Mykrantz When I was growing up, my mom would sometimes cook hominy as a side dish instead of potatoes, especially if we were having a meat dish that we didn’t particularly enjoy, such as liver and onions. She used store-bought hominy but you can make your own and keep it on hand for a quick, easy side dish. While we used it as a conventional side dish, hominy is a favorite ingredient in Mexican cuisine. Hominy is made from kernels of dried field corn that have been nixtamalized, an ancient process that started with cooks in the Mesoamerica region of Central and South America. The corn kernels are soaked in cooking lye or lime solutions and then rinsed several times, which removes the hulls and turns the inner kernels tender and plump. Some recipes also use baking soda. This process helps improve the corn’s nutritional content, and also helps keep the corn from sprouting during long storage, when cooks needed ways to make the corn harvest last through the winter. Hominy has a complex flavor and aroma, more like stoneground grits or freshly made tortillas than fresh corn. Hominy can also come in a ground form. Coarsely ground hominy is the key ingredient in grits, while finely ground hominy is known as masa. Some cooks use masa to make tortillas, arepas, tamales and other favorites. Seasoned whole hominy is an easy vegetable side dish. But it can also be used as an ingredient in other dishes, such as salsas, soups, and stews such as pozole, a fragrant, flavorful stew. Hominy is a healthy food, packed with nutrients, low fat and rich in carbohydrates. It is also a good source of fiber and polyphenols, a plant compound with anti-inflammatory properties. This week Cook Simply includes instructions on making your own hominy as well as a simple side dish of hominy, a skillet hominy meal and two hearty stew type recipes known as pozole and featuring chicken or pork. Enjoy and until next time, simply cook. Making Hominy Pioneer Style, outside in a cast iron kettle over a fire: Start with good quality, organic, shelled corn. Winnow the corn by pouring it back and forth in buckets to sort out the chaff. It works best if it is done outside in front of a fan or with a good breeze. Soak the corn overnight in a soda/water solution (Mix 1 tablespoon baking soda per quart of water. Mix well before adding corn.) For a batch, use two gallons of water per gallon of corn for soaking and boiling. In a large kettle, bring water to a boil, then add soaked corn. Boil until wax covering on the corn is melted, typically when at least half the kernels are split open and half the hearts emerge. Remove the kettle from the heat and start washing the corn with cold water. You can use a hose to drain off the wax, which rises to the top of the kettle, as well as chaff, black kernel tips, and other waste. After washing the hominy, drain. You can freeze the hominy in a freezer bag with a little water. Hominy can also be canned in quart jars, adding fresh water and 1 teaspoon salt per jar before putting in a cold water pack for about three hours. You can also make a smaller batch on your kitchen stove with this second recipe. Easy Hominy 8 heaping tablespoons Baking Soda 1 gallon shelled corn 2 gallons water Salt Place corn in a stainless steel container. Add water and soda and let it stand for 15 hours. Bring the water to a boil and cook for three hours or until the husks loosen on the corn kernels. Drain the pot and add clean water. Wash, rub and soak the corn until the soda taste is gone. Add 1 teaspoon salt to each quart of hominy. Cook hominy until tender. Put hominy in clean quart jars. Cold pack for 30 minutes. Hominy on the side 1 medium onion finely chopped 2 T butter 4 Cups Hominy 1/2 cup green, red or yellow pepper for color (optional) Salt and pepper to taste Melt butter in a pan; add onion and sauté until tender. Add Hominy and pepper (if desired). Heat until pepper is tender and Hominy is warmed through. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve as a side with your favorite meat. Hominy Skillet Supper 1 medium onion finely chopped 2 T butter 4 Cups Hominy 1 pound ground beef (can also use sausage, mild or hot Italian sausage for an extra kick) 1 can tomato sauce Salt and pepper to taste Saute onion in butter until tender. Add ground meat and brown until all pink is gone. Add hominy and tomato sauce and heat thoroughly.Serve with a green salad and vegetable. Slow Cooker Chicken Pozole Yields: 4 - 6 servings Prep Time: 0 hours 10 mins Total Time: 6 hours 40 mins Ingredients 4 c. low-sodium chicken broth 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts 2 poblano peppers, chopped 1 white onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbsp. cumin 1 tbsp. oregano 2 tsp. chili powder 2 tsp. kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 2 (15-oz) cans hominy, drained and rinsed Thinly sliced radishes, for garnish Sliced green cabbage, for garnish Fresh cilantro, for garnish Directions Place all ingredients except hominy and garnishes into the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Take chicken out of slow cooker and shred with two forks. Return to the slow cooker along with the hominy and cook for another 30 minutes. Source: Delish Pork Pozole Yields: 6 - 8 servings Prep Time: 0 hours 20 mins Total Time: 3 hours 30 mins Ingredients 3 lb. pork shoulder, cut into 2” pieces Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 1 large yellow onion, quartered 3 cloves garlic, sliced 1 tsp. whole cloves 1 tsp. cumin seeds 1 bay leaf 4 c. low-sodium chicken broth 2 dried chiles de arbol, stem and seeds removed 2 dried ancho chiles, stem and seeds removed 2 dried guajillo chiles, stem and seeds removed 3 (15-oz.) cans hominy, drained and rinsed Thinly sliced radishes, for serving Thinly sliced green cabbage, for serving Freshly chopped cilantro, for serving Directions Season pork with salt and pepper. In a large pot over medium heat, add pork, onion, garlic, cloves, cumin seeds, bay leaf and broth. Add enough water to cover pork by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Let simmer 1 ½ hours, skimming foam off top as necessary. Place dried chiles into a medium bowl and pour 2 cups boiling water over. Let soak 30 minutes. Place chiles and about ½ cup of their soaking liquid into a blender. Blend until smooth, adding more water as necessary. Add chile puree and hominy to pot with pork. Continue to simmer, covered, until pork is very tender, 1 hour and 30 minutes more. Serve pozole with radishes, cabbage, and cilantro. Source Delish |
