Recipes : Easy Black Bean Posole
Description: Too good to be true? Only until you try this rustic, healthful vegetarian stew filled with authentic Mexican flavor. You won't believe how easy and quick it is to prepare, and yet the result is astounding. Plus, you can make it all in one pot. Chewy, fiber-rich hominy and black beans combine with tangy salsa, green chiles, and lime to create a perfect blend of flavors. Hominy, by the way, is simply kernels of corn that have been soaked in limewater and hulled. Most of the ingredients this recipe calls for are pantry staples, and you can make substitutions. For example, use water if you don't have vegetable broth, omit the hominy or green chiles if you don't have them, or substitute another vegetable such as zucchini, carrots, squash, or spinach if you don't have bell peppers.Topped with optional cheese, avocado, and/or tortilla chips, this is a true crowd-pleaser.
Servings: 8
Cost: $1.04 per serving
Ingredients
- 1 onion, chopped $0.30
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped $0.75
- 1 tablespoon oil $0.05
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced $0.26
- 2 cups vegetable broth (or water) $1.90
- 15 ounces canned black beans $0.75
- 15 ounces hominy $1.31
- 1 cup salsa, green or red, mild or hot $1.28
- 4 ounces diced green chiles $1.40
- 2 tablespoons lime juice $0.33
- 1 tablespoon flour (or 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in water for gluten-free version) $0.01
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream * -
- 1 avocado, diced * -
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheeseor jack cheese, shredded * -
- 1 cup tortilla chips * -
Instructions
- In a good-sized soup pot, sauté the onion and bell pepper in oil over medium heat for 2 minutes or until just softened. Add the garlic and sauté another minute.
- Add the vegetable broth (or water), black beans, hominy, salsa, green chiles, lime juice, and stir. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the flour to thicken the broth. Simmer for about 15 minutes until flavors are melded and it's heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. You can leave it on the stove on lowest heat for over an hour and it only gets better.
- Stir in the heavy cream just before serving. Ladle into bowls and top with optional avocado, shredded cheese, or tortilla chips.
Notes
- You can always use dried beans and dried hominy, if you prefer, soaked and cooked according to package directions. Use prepared beans from our Latin-Style Black Beans and Rice recipe (link below).
- For a vegan version, omit the cream or add coconut cream instead, and for a gluten-free version omit the flour or use one teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in a few tablespoons of water instead..
- Instead of red bell peppers, you can substitute green, yellow, or orange peppers, carrots, or zucchini.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator, or freeze.