Pozole Rojo + Homemade Tortillas

One of my favorite things to make as the weather beings to cool off is soup and/or stew. When I was planning out what to make this week Stephen buzzed in and wanted me to make Pozole. Apparently when we were browsing through one of my cookbooks he saw a recipe for it. I had no idea what Pozole was, but after reading through the ingredients I was entrigued. He begged me to make it, he even went to the store with me and helped pick out some of the ingredients. I guess he had eaten it a few times while serving his mission and grew to love it. He said the first time he was terrified because he didn't know what hominy was and started gagging. Great, I thought, you gagged... why are we making this?! He assured me that it was delicious and that he was just creeped out because he didn't realize hominy was just puffed corn. I told him I'd give it a try, but I was pretty skeptical.

He suggested serving it with a side of tortillas. Since store bought tortillas aren't very authentic I went to Pinterest and looked for homemade tortillas. I found a pin I had saved from a while back and followed the link. I was pleased with the comments and reviews it was given so I gave it a try. I added a bit of sugar and substituted some of the all-purpose flour for wheat flour. They turned out to be really tasty, along with the Pozole. Stephen was incredibly happy and I was pleasantly surprised by just how delicious it all was (really, I'm kind of a picky eater and I loved it)! He couldn't stop thanking me for making it and for doing such a good job. Success!

Pozole Rojo
Ingredients
2 lb pork roast
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 lime, juiced
1 (29 oz) can hominy
5 c. chicken broth
1 c. boiling water + 1½ tbsp. ancho chili powder (dissolve)
½ tsp. dried oregano
Salt + Pepper

Garnishes:
Radish
Cilantro
Lettuce
Lime

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In a large dutch oven over medium heat, sautee onions and garlic in olive oil. Generously salt and pepper pork on both sides, set into dutch oven. Braise both sides (4-5 minutes on each side). Add tomatoes, oregano, and chicken broth. Bring mixture to a boil.
3. Cover dutch oven and place into oven. Bake for 2½ hours or until pork becomes tender and begins to fall apart. Remove from oven, using tongs place pork onto a cutting board and shred. Return to pot the stove top, turn heat to medium-high until broth begins to simmer. Place pork back in and add ancho chili mixture, hominy and lime juice. Simmer for 30 minutes. Garnish and serve.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, Pozole Rojo | Makes approximately 6 servings

Homemade Tortillas
Ingredients
2½ c. all-purpose flour
½ c. wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. baking powder
4 tbsp. canola oil
2 tbsp. butter, melted
1 c. hot water

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a medium size mixing bowl whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder.

2. Pour in canola oil and melted butter, gently mix together with fingers until oil/butter is incorporated and the mixture beings to form coarse crumbs.

3. Add hot water and keep mixing until a large ball is formed. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30-40 minutes.
4. Divide the dough into 12 equal size balls and roll out one at a time on a lightly floured surface. Place one rolled tortilla at a time into a hot, ungreased skillet over medium-high heat. Flip the tortilla when blisters form on the first side, continue heating the next side. Serve warm.
Adapted from Tasty Kitchen, Healthy Homemade Tortillas | Makes 12 soft taco size tortillas