Once in awhile, I get the "Don't you miss eating meat?" question from acquaintances when they find out about my mostly vegetarian diet. Well, not really--I still ocassionally cook with chicken broth, eat fish a few times a month, and make exceptions for things like French onion soup. But lately, I've been craving slow-cooker chicken chili, a weeknight staple of my meat eating days. I don't miss the chicken, but rather the generous amount of hominy the chili included. I've tried a few vegetarian hominy-based casseroles, but none of them had the appeal of my chicken chili. It always tasted like something was missing (and no, it wasn't the chicken).
This week, the mystery was finally solved thanks to Veg Girl RD, a vegetarian food and nutrition blog I follow. Kristine's recipe for Creamy Posole Casserole included the secret ingredient that finally satisfied my hominy-from-chicken-chili craving: canned diced green chiles, which were the main seasoning in my chicken chili recipe. The original recipe includes ground pumpkin seeds for additional protein, but since Mike was skeptical as to how they would impact the flavor and texture of the dish we left them out. I also doubled the amount of green chiles and used the sour cream as a garnish rather than incorporating it into the casserole. We had this with salads for dinner, and then I ate the leftovers for lunch with a large helping of steamed sweet corn.
Adapted from "Creamy Posole Casserole" by Kristine of Veg Girl RD
Serves 2-3 as an entree or 4 as a hearty side
Ingredients:
- 14.5-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 29-ounce can hominy, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup canned diced green chiles
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- sour cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Puree diced tomatoes in blender until smooth; set aside.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until golden, about one minute. Stir in the tomato puree, hominy, chiles, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until bubbling and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
Transfer the hominy mixture to a 2-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, or until cheese is browned.
Serve garnished with sour cream.
