My boyfriend is the cook in our house, but I have a small repertoire of recipes that make repeat appearances on our table. One of those is posole, which I’ve made a few times. I feel like I finally “perfected” my version of it last week, so here it is.

I use the recipe I found here, but there are many versions of posole recipes all over the internet. I like my version better than the one I made following the recipe exactly (mine is also adjusted for two people). The major shortcut I took was using the canned salsa verde rather than chopping and food processing jalepenos, tomatillos, onions and water. No, doing so isn’t difficult or expensive, but neither is using a perfectly decent pre-made salsa. It saved time and a mess, which is much appreciated on a weeknight.

The original recipe results in a lot—a lot—of cilantro and a very vibrant green soup. If you’re a big cilantro fan, great, but I consider myself a big cilantro fan and it was still a bit much. If you stir the cilantro in at the last minute it’s a lighter touch. And, if you’re serving a couple of cilantro-haters, you can just let everyone customize their own bowls.

Posole
Olive oil
1- 1 1/2 pounds pork shoulder, cubed (I use the “city chicken” cuts from the grocery store)
1 white onion, large dice
2-3 cloves garlic
1 t oregano
3-4 c chicken broth
1 7-oz can salsa verde (I used Embasa brand)
1 can white hominy, drained and rinsed
cilantro to taste (I used about 1/2 a cup)

In a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven, heat oil and add diced onions and garlic. Add a dash of salt, stir over low heat until onions are soft. Salt and pepper pork, add to skillet and brown for about 8 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Add about 3 cups broth and oregano; stir and scrape. Heat through until the mixture is bubbling. Remove from heat and place in a slow cooker set to low. Cook for several hours (I cooked mine for about 5 hours). When pork is very tender, use two forks to shred it. Stir in hominy. Stir in salsa verde. Right before serving, dice cilantro and stir into soup. Serve with extras and garnishes like flour tortillas, sliced avocado, lime wedges, white onion, hot sauce and extra cilantro.