Vegetarian Pozole

Ingredients:

1-2 29 oz. cans of hominy

5 cups mock chicken stock or vegetable broth

2 cups water or more for desired consistency

1-2 limes (juiced)

4-6 chicken patties (optional)

1 tsp salt

pinch of black pepper

2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp Mexican oregano

1 small white onion

2 cloves pressed garlic

2 tsp cumin

1tsp masa

 1 cup pumpkin seeds

2 chile anchos (dried)

5 chiles de arbol

2 chile guajillos

1 cup cilantro

1-2 tbs vegetable oil

Garnishes:

Avocado cubed

 Radishes thinly sliced

Cabbage thinly shredded

Cilantro

Directions:

Open up the dried chiles and remove the seeds. Toast pumpkin seeds and dried chiles in oil. Once peppers have softened and the seeds are toasted, remove from pan and place in a blender or food processor with the cilantro and about 1 cup of broth. Blend until smooth and place to the side. Add another tbs of oil to the pan if necessary. Sauté onion in oil. Add pressed garlic and spices and continue to saute until the onions are soft. Add in blended chile mixture and "chicken". (I like to use fake chicken patties with the breading removed and cut them up like shredded chicken. I tried using morning star chicken strips meal starters and the texture was too gummy. This can be experimented with or left out all together.) Add hominy, broth, lime juice and water. I used one and 1/2 cans of hominy. Cook until hominy is soft and you have the desired soup consistency. Add water as necessary.

I cut up 2 avocados into cubes and added to the soup at the end. Garnish with radish and cabbage when served. This recipe yields about 1.5 quarts.