Instant Pot: Chicken Pozole Rojo

Fall means we’re eating more soup! I’ve been in the mood for a good bowl of soup and recently, I made this Chicken Pozole Rojo. It’s a delicious soup full of chicken, hominy, poblano peppers in a rich and flavorful chile broth that’s perfect for chilly days…

Pozole is a common Mexican soup or stew made with hominy, which are dried maize kernels – they look like giant corn kernels. These kernels have soaked in an alkali solution {lye} which causes it to puff up and double in size. They are naturally gluten free and are essential in pozole recipes. You can find hominy in the grocery store by the canned beans section or any Latin or Mexican market. {Goya is the brand I prefer.} This one is a red or ‘rojo’ version due to the dried chile powder used. Think of it like a chicken tortilla soup with puffy corn mixed in – yum! I especially liked how filling and flavorful it is and we enjoyed this with Chihuahua cheese quesadillas…

• 3 large poblano chiles (1 lb. total)
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 large onion
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano, divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) white hominy, rinsed & drained
• 3 tablespoons ground red New Mexico chiles
• Garnishes: sliced avocado, lime wedges, cilantro sprigs, and sour cream

• Preheat broiler. When hot, broil poblanos on a baking sheet until blackened, turning as needed, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a food processor, whirl garlic to mince. Cut onion in chunks and pulse with garlic until chopped; set aside. 
• Cut chicken into 1- to 1 1/2-in. chunks and sprinkle with salt and 1 tsp. oregano. 
• 
  
• In your Instant Pot:
  
  Plug in the IP with insert set in place.
  
  Press SAUTE and add oil. Brown half the chicken lightly, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer meat to a plate. Repeat with remaining chicken.

• In the now empty IP, add the processed garlic and onion mixture along with remaining 1 teaspoon oregano and saute until onion is softened, about 3 minutes. 
• Add broth, hominy, ground chiles and lightly browned chicken to pan. 
• Secure the lid of the IP and ensure the valve is set to SEALING.
  
  Press MANUAL and adjust the time to 10 minutes on HIGH pressure.
  
  
  The display will reflect ON while the IP comes to pressure. Allow a few minutes for your IP to come to pressure.
  
  Once at pressure, the display will reflect 10 (the number of minutes you initially set) and will begin to countdown to 0 minutes.

  
  

  When the IP beeps after pressure cooking for 10 minutes, allow your IP to naturally release pressure – about 12-15 minutes. While naturally releasing pressure (also known as NPR or NR), the display will reflect numbers counting up from 1. The numbers indicate how many minutes the IP has stopped cooking since it beeped (or how many minutes it has been naturally releasing pressure).  No need to touch your IP while it naturally releases pressure. The pin at the top of your IP will drop when all pressure has been released and it’s safe to open.

  
  Open up your IP when the pin has dropped (allow a few minutes for this to happen).

• Remove stems, skins, and seeds from poblanos and discard; chop poblanos. 
• Press SAUTE and stir poblanos into posole and cook 1 minute. Ladle into bowls; top with garnishes.