I’ve made posole [poh-soh-ley] (or pozole) before. It is usually an affair that includes cooking chunks of pork for a while. I decided to do a quicker version with ground pork for a week night. When I got to my grocery store, they had no ground pork. They had ground beef, veal, chicken and turkey but no pork. When the butcher saw me looking confused he asked if he could help. I asked if he had ground pork and he said he was just about to grind some up and give him 10 minutes. I had already got all my other items and didn’t really feel like waiting so I grabbed our go to ground protein, turkey.

Since I knew the ground turkey would be lean, I decided to add a few strips of bacon. I thought that would add some fat and flavor, and it did. Everything else about this is just a hodgepodge of recipes I found by searching the interwebs. I didn’t measure the spices, I just added and tasted, added and tasted until it was to my taste.

This one turned out to be pretty amazing. Something about the San Marzano tomatoes gives everything you add them to an immediate depth of flavor. While a would have preferred to have used ground pork, the ground turkey and bacon worked just as good. I think this will be my go to from now on.

I used fresh oregano from my herb garden, but you can substitute with dried. I also used Fresno chili because I had them fresh from the garden, but you can use any chili you have.

We served this with cornbread, but you can do crusty bread, tortilla chips or grilled cheese sandwiches.

BTW, the leftovers heat up nicely and I would say even improve after a few days in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

• 1 lbs Ground turkey
• 2-3 Strips of bacon, diced (I prefer Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked)
• 2 Cans white hominy, drained
• 1/2 Large white onion, chopped
• 2-3 Cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 Fresno chili peppers, minced
• 2 32 oz Chicken broth
• 1/2 28 oz can whole peeled tomato (I prefer San Marzano)
• 2 Sprigs fresh oregano, minced
• 2-3 Bay leaves
• Olive oil

Spices

• Cumin
• Smoked paprika
• Chili powder
• Cheyenne pepper
• Chipotle pepper
• Ancho chili powder
• Salt

Accoutrements

• Radish
• Red onion slices
• Cilantro
• Lime wedges

Directions

1. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil and add the bacon. Once the bacon is rendered ad the onions. Cook until translucent and add garlic and peppers. Cook until the garlic is fragrant.
2. Add ground turkey. Work into the onion and garlic mixture. Add spices and cook until turkey is cooked through.
3. Add the tomato by squeezing the whole bits into smaller bits. I only used half the tomatoes and sauce. Cook for another minute.
4. Add oregano, chicken broth, hominy and bay. Mix well. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
5. Taste and re-season with spices or salt. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until slightly reduced.
6. To serve, ladle into a bowl and add your preferred accouterments which add a nice bit of crunch to the soup.