Thursday, September 12, 2013

Vegan MoFo Day 12 - Tidy-up Thursdays - Green Chili Stew

This Green Chili Stew posted on Tales of a Vegan Food Fetishist a couple of MoFos ago was initially supposed to be a part of my first MoFo Mondays post. After scanning through the recipe I realised that it was going to utilise two sorely neglected ingredients in my pantry - tinned tomatillos and hominy. It's safe to say they had been sitting there unloved for a couple of years and although I did go through a period of cooking with tomatillos a while back I had never eaten hominy before.


I made a few substitutions to Leigh's recipe to suit the vegetables I had on hand and included cooked black beans in place of crumbled tofu. I wasn't sure about the quantity of tomatillos that was used in her recipe as the tin size wasn't specified but I'm tipping it was larger than my small tin which meant that my stew didn't end up with a green colour. On the other hand I had more than enough hominy in my giant sized tin and after doubling the amount there was still plenty leftover.


The man loved the aroma of this meal when he arrived home from work and enquired what I was making for dinner. I warned him that the meal contained quinoa as he isn't the biggest fan and cleverly marketed it as a "Mexican meal" rather than a stew to keep him interested. Stews are one of his least favourite kinds of meals so I always keep the liquid to a minimum as he really doesn't enjoy soupy styled dishes. I adored the strong smoky flavours from the ancho chilli and smoked paprika throughout this dish and also enjoyed the mild corn flavour and chewy texture of the hominy. The only bothersome aspect was that the meal contained a slight metallic undertone which was most likely due to using such old tinned ingredients.


Susan from Kittens Gone Lentil posted about recipe testing for Leigh Drew's new cookbok "Veganissimo! Beautiful Vegan Food" last week, which will be released on the 15th of November and can be pre-ordered from booktopia now. I couldn't finish a post about one of Leigh's recipes without mentioning her book as I was also involved in some of the phases of recipe testing. As well as many of the curries and tandoori cauliflower cheese that Susan mentioned in her post, I was most excited by the above dish - Tostada Tofu Rancheros with Scrambled Tofu, Blackened Tofu and Roast Potatoes accompanied by Mint Salsa Verde and Guacamole. This meal was amazing! For a sneak peek of other delicious foods from Leigh's new cookbook, make sure you check out Susan's post.


17 comments:

  1. eeekkkk that doesn't sound good about the metallic taste :-/
    I have never even heard of hominy before. Google search about to happen ;-)
    Love the look of the scramble :-)

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    1. Thanks Sandy, hominy isn't very common in Australia, I picked it up at a specialist Latin American grocer.

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  2. sounds like a good recipe…minus the metallic taste!

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    1. Thanks India, yes it was a great recipe apart from that taste but it's my own fault for leaving tins sitting there for so long!

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  3. That stew looks and sounds awesome! I've been wanting to cook with hominy more, need to pick up a can soon!

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    1. Thanks Jes, hominy is really lovely. I wish it was widely available over here.

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  4. Great minds clearly think alike - I've got a tin of tomatillos that's been hanging around too long. I could definitely give this a go, although I don't think hominy exists over here. Woudl sweetcorn work instead?

    That wrap looks great- that's the kind of testing I could get behind!

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    1. Thanks Joey, I'm sure sweetcorn would do the job too if you wanted to give this a try. I'm looking forward to the book coming out so I can make this wrap again - it's so good!

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  5. I too have hominy in my pantry, I'm a bit worried about just how long it's been in there... but you used yours, so I think I will at least open mine and see what it looks like. I've used hominy in a recipe from Viva Vegan! - can't remember which!

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    1. Hi Mandee, I think the tomatillos were the culprit with the dodgy taste as they didn't look as nice as other tins I've used in the past. If you give drain and rinse the hominy you should get an idea of if it's OK. I've been wanting to use hominy in the posole from Viva Vegan but am fearful that it will be too stewy for the man to enjoy.

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  6. I have always wondered exactly what tomatillos and hominy are! It's great to have some images and examples, and now I know you can find them here, I will keep an eye out (and hopefully use them pre-metallic taste!).

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    1. Thanks Kari, they aren't the most accessible ingredients to come by. I wonder if somewhere like The Herdsman might stock them otherwise you would probably need to seek out a specialist Latin American store (if there is one around Perth)?

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  7. I tried a few hominy dishes a few years back - I liked it but wasn't very confident about recipes using it - this looks really good and I think I prefer the black beans to the tofu so will bookmark this for when I next go to casa iberica - and love hearing about how you market the dishes to the man!

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    1. Thanks Johanna, I was more adventurous with Latin American meals a few years back but haven't been for a while which is why I had these old tins sitting there. I'm due for a stock up at Casa Iberica soon, haven't been there in years!

      I need to be clever with my meal marketing sometimes in order to get away with cook some things I wouldn't usually!

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  8. That's what always concerns me about canned foods. It's such a bummer when I make a delicious meal, but the taste of the can overpowers. I don't use cans often for a variety of reasons, but it seems like some foods are more sensitive to that taste than others. For example, I always by jarred artichoke hearts and hearts of palm, because that flavor ruins them for me.

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    1. Thanks Cadry, this is the most memorable occurrence I've had with a metallic taste from a tinned food. I have steered clear of tins for beans and lentils for a few years now but there are some instances where you just can't avoid them. I also opt for jarred produce when possible too.

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