Tom Douglas is a big name in the restaurant business here in Seattle. His chefs recently started preparing dishes for Lish (an online meal delivery service). Last week, I tried the Smoky Pork Pozole and loved the flavors! I knew I had to try and recreate it. Most of the recipes I found online used tomatoes instead of tomatillos. So, I found a recipe to use as a starting point, then changed some of the ingredients to make it more like the one I had eaten. This is my version.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground pork
• 1 can white hominy, drained & rinsed
• 4 radishes, sliced thin in half moons
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 lb. tomatillas, cubed
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1 avocado, cubed
• 2 green chilies, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp. coriander
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. chile powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 lime
• 1 bag fried pork skins (chicharron)

Directions:

In a large pot, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the ground pork; season with salt and pepper. Cook, frequently breaking the meat apart with a spoon, 3 to 5 minutes, or until lightly browned and just cooked through. Transfer to a bowl and set aside, leaving any drippings and browned bits in the pot.
Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the pot. Heat on medium-high until hot. Add the garlic, onion and the spices; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes, or until softened and fragrant. Add the tomatillos. Cook, stirring frequently and breaking apart the tomatillos with a spoon, 4 to 6 minutes, or until they have softened and begun to thicken into a sauce.
Add 4 cups of water to the pot; cook, stirring constantly and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until thoroughly combined. Add the hominy and browned pork; heat to boiling on high. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and simmer 7 to 9 minutes, or until slightly reduced in volume. Remove from heat. Stir in the juice of 1 lime wedge.
To serve, ladle the stew into a bowl. Garnish with radish, chilies, cilantro, avocado & pork skins.