Happy New Year's Eve, everyone! I hope you have something fun and glamorous planned for the evening, which will keep you off the slick streets and sidewalks. I left the house last night right before the wind started and, by the time I got home 45 minutes later, my front walk was a skating rink and my storm door had frozen shut.
Since I mentioned making veggie menudo on Facebook and Twitter a few weeks back, I've been asked for the recipe countless times. I'm happy for the interest; this is one of if not my favorite vegetarian reverse-engineered projects to date. This soup cooks up relatively quickly once the prep is done, and it's even better on days 2 and 3. It's best served with griddled warm corn tortillas. I also folded some Monterey Jack into the tortillas to make quesadillas.
Vegetarian Menudo
© 2010 by Alexis McKinnis
Serves 8
2 Tablespoons oil, divided
8 ounces prepared textured vegetable protein or vegetarian sausage*
4 ancho chiles
1 white onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 Tablespoon ground coriander
2 Tablespoons Mexican oregano
4 cups vegetarian mock beef broth**
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained
1 29-ounce can hominy, drained
Kernels from 2 ears of fresh corn
Salt to taste (I end up using about 1/2 teaspoon)
Garnish:
2 limes, cut into wedges
3-4 serrano chiles, minced
2 Tablespoons Mexican oregano
Tear chiles into large pieces, removing stems and seeds, and place them in a heat-proof bowl. Pour 2 cups of boiling water over the chiles to cover them, loosely cover bowl and let sit for 30 minutes until chiles have rehydrated. Meanwhile, heat 1 Tablespoon oil over medium-high heat in medium skillet. Fry TVP or sausage 8-10 minutes in oil, until brown and firm, and set aside. Once chiles have rehydrated, combine them, the 2 cups water they were in, onion, garlic and tomato in blender and puree until smooth. In large stock pot, heat 1 Tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Fry the chile puree 8 minutes (careful, this will splatter). Add cumin, coriander and Mexican oregano and cook 2 more minutes. Add the broth, garbanzo beans, hominy, corn kernels and 1 cup of hot water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in TVP or sausage. Ladle soup into bowls and serve with limes, chiles and Mexican oregano to garnish.
*Morningstar or Boca crumbles work great here, but I prefer to use Field Roast Mexican Chipotle vegetarian sausage, which tastes damn close to chorizo and can be found at Whole Foods. My next reverse-engineered project is to make my own.
**I strongly prefer Edward & Sons No-beef Bouillon, which can be found at Whole Foods.
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