Our Mexican Christmas Tradition

Every family has their own holiday traditions, some of which have passed through generations and some that come and go through the years. One unusual tradition in our family is a Mexican potluck on Christmas Eve. We do turkey for Thanksgiving and ham on Easter, so why not mix it up on Christmas with some Mexican? We all love it and enjoy some of our family's favorite dishes and some new recipes every year. One year, my cousin's friend with Mexican heritage came and introduced us to pozole, which has remained on the family's menu. Below is a recipe for the simple chicken and hominy soup, which is made truly delicious and special by the toppings.

As I have made the transition to eating allergy free, I have found that some ethnic cuisines are excellent options with unique flavors, and Mexican is one of them. Most of my family's favorites use wheat tortillas and are topped with a lot of cheese, but authentic Mexican food utilizes more corn and less wheat and dairy. With this on my mind, I made an impulsive cookbook purchase the other day: The Food and Cooking of Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean, by Milton, Fleetwood, and Fillippelli. The recipes use a few simple ingredients, include numerous photos, and have instructions for making everything from scratch. Most are allergy free by nature, and most of the rest could be easily altered (eliminate the cheese, or use rice milk rather than cream in a soup). This is an amazing cookbook that I highly recommend to anyone wanting to eat simple, delicious, authentic Mexican food. The inclusion of South American and Caribbean recipes adds a lot to the book and mixes up the flavors, which is a big treat for the allergy-free palate.

My delicious allergy-free Christmas meal includes tortilla chips with some mouth-watering guacamole dip, store-bought tamales (to save some labor during a busy time of year!), taco salad, and pozole. Here's our new family favorite, compliments of my cousin and his friend:

Pozole

2 small cans yellow hominy
chicken stock or 5 bouillon cubes
6 half-breasts bone-in chicken*
1/2 diced yellow onion
salt to taste
garlic powder
cumin
various toppings (see below)

Simmer chicken and onion in water (approximately 2 1/2 parts water to 1 part chicken) until chicken is done and begins to fall off bone, about 45 minutes. Remove chicken, take meat off bone, and replace meat in pot. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes.

* Alternately, I've made this soup with turkey bones and meat after Thanksgiving. I've also used rotisserie chicken broken into chunks. The chicken is obviously already cooked, but simmering the bones still adds additional flavor and texture. One could even brown boneless, skinless chicken breast in the soup pot, shred, and make the soup from that, but you'll be missing out on some flavor.

While the soup is simmering, prepare a large plate of garnishes: chopped cilantro, shredded cabbage, lemon wedges, sliced radishes, and sliced avocados (and perhaps shredded jack cheese in a separate bowl for the non-allergic, if you're feeling generous!).

Serve soup in large bowls, allowing each person to generously top their soup with garnishes.

Enjoy!