A World Without Wheat....A Hearty Stew to Enjoy after Thanksgiving

So you still have some turkey hanging around the fridge or freezer, maybe a pint of gravy too?  Well, I have just the recipe for you.  It is nothing like most typical turkey leftover recipes.  Try this traditional Mexican stew; turkey posole.  It can easily be gluten free. Just use care choosing your chicken broth and your tortilla chips that accompany this savory soup. 

I have been making it every fall after Thanksgiving and I always look forward to a few bowls of it.  Spicy, crunchy, tangy; unlike any other soup I make.  Posole is often made with roasted pork and I have done so.  I like it far better created with roast turkey.  I have served this exotic stew to many people and it is always well received and enjoyed, even by elderly folks!

Ingredients

2 tbsp mild olive oil or canola oil

2 medium onions chopped

4 cloves garlic chopped fine

1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped fine.  I never use two but if you like it spicy go for it!

1 tablespoon ground cumin

8-12 ounce GF beer (can use 1 cup water if you want but it gives more flavor)

Coarse salt and pepper

12-16 tomatillos; about 2 lbs, take off the paper covering and chop up.  Can coarsely chop in food processor

5-6 sprigs fresh thyme; chop it up off the stems.

1 15-17 ounce can hominy

1 qt chicken stock (can use gravy for part of the quart)

1 ½ to 2 lbs chopped turkey meat; can be mixture of light and dark

1 lime juiced

Chopped cilantro leaves to garnish

Tortilla chips; the ones with lime go particularly well with this.

 Directions

Cook first five ingredients 5 min in a large stock pot.  Add beer, cook one minute.  If you use water skip this step and add it with the broth.  Add chopped tomatillos and cook 5-6 minutes until softening.  Add hominy, thyme, turkey gravy and stock and cook 15 minutes.  Taste and add salt and pepper.  Add lime juice, stir well.  I never use cilantro as it is something I just don’t like but feel free to add it as a garnish.

I ladle my posole into bowls and serve lots of white tortilla chips to crunch over the top of the hot soup.  As the soup disappears I add more chips to keep the crunch going.

The more jalapeno pepper you add the hotter it will be. I have tried canned tomatillos and they are not really a good substitute.  You can get them fresh (found near the fresh tomatoes) in many stores including Giant and Bottom Dollar.  They are used in Hispanic and Mexican cooking and add a lot of flavor and tartness to the soup.

Hominy is a corn product; whole kernels soaked in lye to swell and soften.  The kernals have a mild corn flavor plus they soak up other flavors quickly and add a certain texture and body to the stew. 

One of the wild turkey species is originally from Mexico.  So turkey is a natural component in this stew.  The Aztecs revered corn and liked to cook it with meat.  Tomatillos are native to Mexico, related to cape gooseberries.  They are used in salsa verde and other Mexican dishes. Limes grow in Mexico.  So turkey, corn, tomatillos and lime are a natural flavor compilation turned into a fragrant soup that will be easy to make and fun to eat. Go on, be adventurous and enjoy a steaming hot bowl of posole this December!