Recipe A Day #19: Black Bean and Giant White Corn Posole

This is a delicious, easy and nutritious stew that you can make in about 35 minutes at a hilariously cheap per-serving cost of 85 cents. The original inspiration for this recipe comes from Jay Salomon and his incredibly useful cookbook Vegetarian Soup Cuisine: 125 Soups and Stews from Around the World. I've adapted it by simplifying it even more and making it even more pantry friendly. You're going to love it.

Black Bean and Giant White Corn Posole

Ingredients:
3-4 Tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons mild chili powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
salt, to taste
hot red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
1 14.5 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 14.5 ounce can giant white corn/white hominy, drained and rinsed
2 14.5 ounce cans black beans (not drained)
3-4 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
about ¾ cup water

Directions:
1) In a large deep skillet or soup pot, add oil, onion, green pepper, garlic, celery and spices (oregano, cumin, chili powder, black pepper and optional salt and hot pepper flakes). Saute everything on medium-high heat for 7-10 minutes until soft.

2) Add white corn/hominy, crushed tomatoes, the black beans (along with black bean liquid), fresh parsley and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, taking care to stir from time to time to prevent the stew from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Serve with rice, brown rice or warm tortillas.

Serves 6-7.
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Recipe notes:
1) Drained white corn, undrained black beans: To make sure there's no confusion, note that we retain and use the liquid from the canned black beans, but we rinse and drain the white corn.

2) Thickness: This is supposed to be a thick soup, almost like a chili in texture, so add the extra water with this in mind. Also note that the posole will thicken as it simmers.

3) Cost:

onion: 25c
pepper: 80c
garlic: 20c
celery: 20c
spices/oil: 35c
hominy/white corn: 1.19
2 cans black beans: 1.38
parsley: 25c
crushed tomatoes: 69c

Total: about $5.31 or about 85c per serving.

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