Pozole: The Mexican Hangover Cure

Mercadito Cantina's chef Patricio Sandoval stopped by to make Pozole Verde, a Mexican soup said to help cure a hangover. Today, the restaurant (located at 172 Avenue B between 10th and 11th Streets) will feature the Pozole, an age-old Mexican hangover cure in addition to its regular lunch menu.

Pozole is a hearty soup made with hominy corn kernels, tostadas, lettuce, onion, Mexican oregano, radish and key lime. Mercadito Cantina's Pozoles come in "Verde" (Berkshire pork carnitas, pumpkin seed-epazote broth) or "Rojo" (barbacoa style organic chicken, chile ancho-guajillo broth), and can be accompanied by a poached or fried egg. Pozole is $9.50 ($2.50 extra with a poached or fried egg).

For more information on Mercadito Cantina, visit www.mercaditorestaurants.com.

RECIPES AND VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP...

Pozole Verde, Serves 6-8 people
Ingredients
Pork Stock:
1 each Berkshire pork shoulder, cut into 2"cubes
1 each carrot, roughly chopped
1 each celery stem, roughly chopped
1 each white Spanish onion, roughly chopped
Enough water to cover pork and vegetables

Hominy
4 cups dry hominy, soaked overnight
(may be replaced with canned hominy but it is not recommended)
Enough water to cover
Salt to season

Green Pozole
Ingredients
3 cloves garlic
1 each jalapeno
3 leafs iceberg lettuce
9 oz tomatillo, roughly chopped
1 ½ cups cilantro, loosely packed
¾ cups epazote, loosely packed
1 tsp cumin, ground
2 cups pork stock (reserved) or hominy liquid
1 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted

To Serve
6 -8 each corn tostadas
½ cup sliced radishes
3 tbs oregano
6 tbs onion, finely chopped
6-8 each key lime wedges
1 each avocado, small dice

Procedure
The night before (12 hours prior)
- Soak the hominy in water fully covered.

Pork and Pork Stock (takes 1 ½ hours)
- In a large pot add all the ingredients and cover with water up to 2" above the ingredients
- Bring to a boil over high heat, remove any foam off the top of the pot
- Lower to medium heat to simmer for 1 ½ hours
- Once done, strain and reserve only the cooked pork and broth
- Once the pork is cool enough to handle, pull the meat with 2 forks and have reserve for serving

Hominy (make when pork stock is ready / takes 4 hours)
- In a large pot add the already soaked hominy and 2 times as much water as hominy
- Bring to a boil, lower to medium heat and let water start evaporating.
- At all times keep 2 times as much liquid as hominy, so when water starts to evaporate incorporate pork stock slowly
- Cook for 4 hours or until the corn is fully cooked; corn should seem overcooked and "broken" or "popped"
- Season with salt in stages to avoid a salty final product

Pozole Verde (make when hominy is ready / takes 45 minutes)
- In a blender, add all the ingredients except the pumpkin seeds, blend until homogenous
- Add the pumpkin seeds to the blender and blend quickly so the pumpkin seeds are incorporate but not mushy
- Pour green mixture into the hominy pot and simmer for 45 minutes

To Serve
- Soup the hominy green broth into large soup bowls
- Add 2-3 tbs of the reserved pulled pork
- Top with corn tostadas, radishes, oregano, onion, lime juice and avocado