Pozole — The Humble Bowl That Carries Everything

The real estate market is strong this week. I showed 7 properties and closed on 1. The pipeline is strong. The phone rings with the steady rhythm of a business that has taken six years to build and refuses to slow down.

Dimitri stopped by the bakery Saturday morning to eat spanakopita and tell Mama she is doing things wrong. She told him he had his chance. They argued. They ate. They loved. In that order, which is the only order this family knows.

I thought about Baba this week. Not the grief — the grief is always there, a familiar companion now — but the man. The way he stood at the bakery counter with his arms crossed. The way he hummed Greek songs he never knew the words to. The way he loved us in silence, which was the loudest love I have ever known.

I made fasolada — white bean soup, the national dish of Greece. Simple, humble, and more satisfying than anything that costs almost nothing has a right to be. The kitchen smelled like rosemary and the evening air and I thought: this is what survives. Not the money or the stress or the arguments about phyllo. The food survives. The recipes survive. The love baked into every dish survives.

The house was quiet this evening. I sat at the kitchen table with a glass of wine and the remains of dinner and I thought about all the tables I have sat at — Mama's table in Tarpon Springs, the table in the South Tampa house I lost, the table in the apartment where I started over, this table where I have fed my children for years. Every table is a different chapter. The food connects them all.

Fasolada reminded me that the simplest food carries the most weight — a lesson that belongs to every culture, not just mine. Pozole lives in that same spirit: humble ingredients, a long-simmered broth, and the kind of warmth that fills a quiet kitchen and makes you feel, even on the hardest evenings, that everything is going to be all right. I make it when I need to feel grounded, when Baba feels close, when the table needs to mean something again.

Pozole

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium white onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 lbs boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 cans (15 oz each) white or golden hominy, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded (optional, for depth)
• 1 bay leaf
• Juice of 1 lime
• For serving: shredded cabbage, sliced radishes, fresh cilantro, diced white onion, lime wedges, dried oregano, tortilla chips

Instructions

1. Brown the pork. Heat olive oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season pork with salt and pepper, then brown in batches, about 3–4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
2. Build the base. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to the same pot and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Stir in chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and oregano; cook 30 seconds until fragrant.
3. Simmer the broth. Return the pork to the pot. Add hominy, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, guajillo chiles (if using), and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 35–40 minutes, until pork is tender and broth is deeply flavored.
4. Finish and season. Remove bay leaf and guajillo chiles. Stir in lime juice. Taste and adjust salt as needed. If the pork pieces are very large, use two forks to shred them slightly right in the pot.
5. Serve. Ladle into bowls and top generously with shredded cabbage, radishes, cilantro, diced onion, and a squeeze of fresh lime. Serve with tortilla chips on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 340 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 30g | Fiber: 5g | Sodium: 620mg