Real Mexican soup - Pozole poblano

Ingredientes

1 kg de carne de cerdo en trozos
1 kg de pechuga de pollo
1 kg de maíz pozolero
4 litros de agua
4 chiles poblanos asados, sin semillas
300 gr de tomates verdes
3 dientes de ajo
2 jitomates
1 cebolla blanca picada
Chiles serranos
1 manojo de cilantro
Sal

Cocemos el pollo, la carne en agua con sal y media cebolla.
Después de 15 minutos de hervir, agregamos los granos de maíz y dejamos cocer hasta que revienten. Aparte asamos los jitomates, los chiles, el ajo, la cebolla restante y los tomates, una vez cocidos los metemos a la licuadorra para preparar una salsa; añadimos al pozole, mezclamos bien y dejamos hervir hasta que todo esté cocido. Sazone con sal al gusto y sirva bien caliente.

'Mexican' vegetable soup

Apparently this vegetable soup is based on a Jamie Oliver-recipe, but it's pretty generic. It's easy to make and healthy. I've never been to Mexico and I can imagine this is an Americanized version of Mexican soup. And do the Mexicans know smoked paprika powder?

Take a big soup pot. Heat some olive oil. Fry for 15 minutes: one onion, 3-4 garlic cloves, 2 bell peppers, 2 big carrots, green chili pepper (all diced).

Add: 2 teaspoons cumin powder, 3 teaspoons smoked paprika powder*. Fry for a couple of minutes.

Add 2 chopped tomatoes, a can of tomatoes and 2 cans of water. Add bay leaf and crumble a vegetable stock cube (or use real vegetable stock instead of the two cans of water). Boil and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add a can of kidney beans. To make the soup a bit thicker puree for a few seconds just to break up some beans.

Garnish
- Cut an avocado in cubes and mix with the juice and grated skin of one lime.
- Sour cream
- Jalapeño pepper (pickled)
- Tortilla chips
- Tabasco

*) Smoked paprika powder (Pimentón de la Vera ) will be hard to get. I bought mine in Spanish food store Pacomer Traiteur, Gerard Doustraat 66,1072 VV Amsterdam.

"Pimentón de la Vera has a distinctly smoky flavor that comes from the process of smoke-drying the peppers with huge amounts of oak wood in the drying houses. Peppers are placed on racks above the fire and farmers turn the peppers by hand once a day. This drying process takes about two weeks."

Onion chutney

1 kilo onions



125 g brown sugar
100 ml white wine
100 ml white wine vinegar (I used 50 ml white wine vinegar and 50 ml dark brown fig vinegar)

optional: red pepper, raisins, cinnamon.

Cut the onion in 'half moons'.



Fry the onion in olive oil for a couple of minutes and add 125 gram brown sugar. Simmer for 20 minutes with a lid on the pan. Stir every couple of minutes.



Add the white wine and vinegar and simmer for another 15 minutes with the lid on.



Add salt and black pepper, and - according to taste - raisins, fresh hot pepper (deseeded) or a little cinnamon.

Simmer without a lid until most of the liquid has evaporated.