Pumpkin Posole with Sopapillas

I don’t know anything about New Mexican cooking – except that it’s delicious! The first night I got into Santa Fe, I went to the Plaza Café and ordered Pumpkin Posole. It was amazing, and warm and comforting on a freezing night when I was worn out from a long day of traveling. I looked up some recipes for posole, but most of them were red or used pork. I don’t have an aversion to pork, but I had cooked extra chicken night before last and wanted to incorporate that into the soup. I didn’t see any recipes with pumpkin, so (as usual) I freestyled. My pumpkin measurement is inaccurate because I need a cup for the pumpkin swirl cheesecake I’m making for Thanksgiving; I measured that out into a container and used the rest for the soup. I think next time, I’d put a whole can in the posole. Oh, and the kind I had at the Plaza Café also had chorizo in it, but I have a hard time finding that here.

Sopapillas are served on the side with almost any dish you order at a New Mexican restaurant. They’re versatile – dip them in soup, stuff them with almost anything for a sandwich, or sweeten them up with cinnamon and honey for dessert. I saw some recipes that used baking powder instead of yeast, but I felt more confident about their “puffing” with yeast. I played with this recipe a little and it came out great. (I also mixed it in my bread machine, much easier than making the dough by hand.)

Pumpkin Posole

One and a half to two pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and cubed or shredded

2 t. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves minced garlic

2 small serrano peppers, seeded and diced (jalapenos will also work)

2 T hot chili powder

1 t oregano

1 quart chicken stock

2 15.5 oz. cans of while hominy

One half to one full can pumpkin puree

1/8 t ginger

Heat oil in soup pot; add next five ingredients and cook until the onion starts to soften. Add chicken and mix well. Cook for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Add remaining ingredients, stir well, and simmer for at least a half hour. I like to cook soup at a low temperature for a long time so all the flavors can blend, so I kept it on the lowest heat for about two hours.

Sopapillas

1 packet (or 1 T) active dry yeast

¼ C warm water

¾ C milk

¼ C sugar

1 t. salt

2 T butter

1 egg

3 C flour

Cooking oil to fill pan to two inches deep

Sprinkle yeast over water in a small bowl. Set aside. Heat milk, sugar, salt, and butter in a small saucepan until butter is melted. Cool to lukewarm and add egg, whisking to mix well. Add proofed yeast to milk mixture and stir well. Gradually add flour and form a smooth dough. Knead for five minutes and place in an oiled bowl and let rise until double in bulk, about an hour. (Alternately, put all ingredients in bread machine in the order shown for your bread machine. Put on dough setting.) Punch dough down; let rest an additional fifteen minutes. While dough rests, heat oil. Knead dough for two to three minutes and roll out to a half inch. Cut into triangles or squares and fry quickly, turning when one side is brown. Drain on paper towels.

I made both of these dishes for lunch today, and my son and his girlfriend (and I) pronounced them delicious!