Pozole

Pozole is a traditional Mexican soup or stew, its name coming from the Nahuatl word pozolli, made from hominy, dried corn kernels that have been treated so their tough hulls soften and swell, cooked in broth with chicken or pork and garnished with lettuce, cabbage, chili, onion, garlic, radish, avocado, salsa or lime. The dish has pre-Columbian roots and is documented in the sixteenth century Florentine Codex compiled by the Spanish friar Bernardino de Sahagún; because maize held deep religious significance for the Aztecs and other Mesoamerican peoples, pozole was traditionally reserved for special and ceremonial occasions rather than eaten every day. Three main varieties are made today: pozole blanco, plain white pozole without added sauce, pozole verde, colored and flavored with a green salsa of tomatillo, cilantro or green chile, and pozole rojo, made red with a sauce of dried chiles such as guajillo or ancho, and vegetarian versions replace the meat with beans.