Count ’em yourself

(The subject line of this post is just for my sister Lindsay. I hope it makes her laugh when she figures it out.)

Remember that pound of tomatillos I got a few weeks ago?

Yeah, I didn’t either. But luckily, they keep well in the fridge for longer than you’d expect. And then I was in Whole Foods the other day and saw a package of posole, aka hominy, which is corn kernels that have been treated in a weak lye solution and then dried out. It is what you grind up to get hominy grits (get it, Linds?). I’d eaten posole once out in Durango. And I vaguely remembered it as one of the recipes that popped up when I was searching for things to do with tomatillos. And I still had half a pound of spicy beef sausage in the freezer. Slowly, dinner was composing itself in my brain.  

The first thing is to husk (de-husk?) the tomatillos and wash off the vague sliminess that remains.

Except no. The actual first thing to do is, the night before (or the morning of), dump the package of hominy into a bowl, cover it with water, and let it sit. Just like soaking beans.

THEN when you are ready to cook, clean the tomatillos, put a big pot over a hot burner, and pan sear the tomatillos on as many sides as you have patience for. They should start to char a bit, then you remove them to a plate.

Drizzle a little vegetable oil in the pan, turn down the heat some, and toss in some crumbled sausage and chopped onions. Cook, stirring, until they both start to brown a little.

Then add in some chopped peppers, one sweet and one hot. (This hot pepper happened to be really more like 2, which was fine with me but I know some people who would not have liked how spicy the finished product was. Which is why some days, I just cook for myself.)

Cook another couple of minutes, and then add in the tomatillos, cut into wedges (doesn’t really matter how thin because they’re all going to break up anyway).

Rinse and drain the hominy, and then add that, too.

Pour in enough water or stock to cover by several inches (the hominy is going to soak up A LOT of water, so add more than you think you need, or else just be prepared to keep adding as it cooks).

Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for a very long time.

Basically, you’re waiting until the corn pops. Because even treated the way it is, corn kernels will pop when they are hit with enough heat. So when that’s happened, taste for salt, toss in some chopped cilantro, squeeze in a lime, and you’re done.

Posole with Tomatillos and Sausage

1 package hominy
1 lb tomatillos
1/2 lb sausage
1 onion
1 sweet pepper
1 hot pepper
stock of your choice, or water (or a mix)
cilantro
1 lime
salt

Soak the hominy overnight, for about 8 hours. Drain and rinse when you are ready to start cooking.

Heat up a large pot over high heat. Cook the tomatillos, whole, until they are a bit blackened in spots. Remove them and let them cool.

Turn down the heat to medium and add a little vegetable oil to the pan. Add in the sausage, crumbled, and the onion, chopped, and cook, stirring occasionally, 2-3 minutes. Chop up the sweet and hot peppers and add them to the pot. Cook for a few minutes, just until the vegetables start to color. Cut up the tomatillos and add them in.

Add the rinsed hominy and enough water or stock to cover by a few inches. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 1-2 hours (or more), as long as it takes for the corn kernels to “pop.”

Taste for salt, and finish with chopped cilantro and fresh squeezed lime juice.

Chiles Rellenos

I was intending to stuff these chiles rellenos with polenta. But it turns out I haven’t made anything with corn meal in a while, and that it can go bad if your canister is not airtight and possibly moisture gets in. But let’s not dwell on that. Instead, let’s look at some pictures of things on fire:

The first step in chiles rellenos is to char the skins of the ancho peppers. It should be noted that I did not burn a single finger in the process–I didn’t even singe my hair.

Then while those peppers were sitting in a covered bowl (the better to remove the charred skins), I chopped up a jalapeno. I read somewhere that a rough gauge of the heat of a pepper is the cracks in the skin–more cracks means more heat. I don’t remotely know if this is true, but I like the sound of it.

So I diced up one of those (THAT is where I burned my fingers), and some scallions, cooked for a few minutes in olive oil, and then added in some cooked black beans and fresh cilantro. Then that whole mess gets mixed into a pot of rice, with some cheese grated in.

And then, look! The roasted peppers! Here they are without their skins. They just need to be split open, and have as much of seeds & ribs removed as possible.

Then I stuffed some of the rice/beans mixture into the peppers, poured some tomatillo sauce I made back when we got tomatillos the last time and had stashed in the freezer. Set them back into the skillet I cooked the beans in, and stuck it in the oven just until everything is hot. (Though I suppose if you prefer, you could heat them through and THEN smother in salsa.)

It should be noted that my fingers were still burning when I fell asleep last night. Serves me right for being too lazy/stubborn to wear rubber gloves when cutting up hot peppers.

Chiles Rellenos
6-8 ancho chiles
1 jalapeno
4 scallions
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt
2 c. cooked black beans (or 1 can, rinsed & drained)
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
1 c. rice, cooked according to instructions
sharp cheese of your choice, grated (I used zamorano, but cheddar or jack would be fine)
salsa of your choice

Char the anchos over an open flame (your gas burner will work perfectly) until they are black all around. Stick them in a bowl and cover it with a plate for 15 minutes. Turn the oven to 350F.

Meanwhile, mince the jalapeno and cut up the scallions. Heat an oven-proof skillet over medium heat, and saute the veggies in olive oil with a little salt, for a few minutes. Then add the black beans and cook until heated through. Mix in the cilantro and turn off the heat. Then mix all that into the rice, and grate in as much cheese as you like.

Remove the charred skin from the peppers, slit them open on one side, and remove the seeds and membranes as best you can without letting the pepper fall to pieces. Stuff each one to overflowing with the rice & beans mixture. Put them back in the skillet and stick it in the oven for 10 minutes or so, until everything is heated through. You can pour the salsa on top before or after the stint in the oven, whichever you prefer. Top with more cheese and fresh cilantro if you like.

You Ought to Give It a Try-Oh

I honestly took my recipe for this from song lyrics from a folk-rock duo that plays kids music. My coworker, S., tragically developed allergies to stone fruit in her early 20s, and offered to trade me some of HER CSA bounty in exchange for some tomatillo salsa, a.k.a. pico de gallo. It turns out a pound of tomatillos doesn’t make quite the quantity of salsa I had expected, but there was still plenty to share.

So without further ado, Pico de Gallo, by Trout Fishing in America, available on the album Big Trouble:

“It’s got jalapenos, I reckon y’all have seen those.
They’re kinda hot for gringos and probably flamingos.

Just add some tomatillos,

onions and cilantro,

Lime juice and tomato [tomato omitted on account of blight],

you got pico de gallo!”

I’m seriously considering having nachos for dinner tonight.