A pazole modification to please an omnivorous household, instead of cooking the pork in the soup, the pork ribs are braised separately to preserve the vegetarian corn tortilla soup.

1 rack of pork spare ribs (also called ‘country style ribs’ or ‘Kansas City ribs’)

2 onions

8 garlic cloves, 4 peeled, 4 kept in the skin

1t celery seed

¼c cumin

¼c chili powder or southwestern ‘rub’ seasoning or 1 dried ancho pepper, ground into a powder

2 stalks celery, quartered

1 Anaheim pepper

12 tomatillos, husked but kept whole

1T vegetable oil

1 can hominy

2 ears corn

4c stock or broth

¼c cilantro, chopped

Tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Slice 1 onion 4 garlic cloves.  Place half on the bottom of a large baking pan and top with ribs meaty side down.  Sprinkle the rest of the onion and garlic over the ribs and sprinkle with salt, pepper, celery seed, chili powder and 2T of the cumin.  Cover tightly with foil and let braise in its own juices for 3 hours.

In a dry cast iron skillet over high heat put 1 onion, quartered, the remaining whole garlic cloves, celery stalks, Anaheim pepper, and tomatillos. Pan roast the vegetables, turning every 5 minutes until the vegetables have black spots all over, the skin of the pepper removes easily, and the onions and tomatillos are soft and fade in color. This may have to be done in batches. Peel the garlic, trim the ends off the onions and pepper, and place veggies in a food processor to puree until smooth.

Heat oil over medium heat in a pot or large saucepan. Add the remaining 2T of cumin and toast for one minute. Add the mixture from the food processor.  Stir.  Add the stock or broth.  Let it come to a boil. Add hominy, season and simmer for 1 hour.

When the ribs are ready, remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes to cool.

Before serving, cut the corn from the cob and add to the soup with the cilantro.  Place a handful of tortilla chips at the bottom of a shallow bowl, cracking if large.  Cut off 3-4 ribs per person and place in the bowl off to the side. Scoop about three ladles of soup over the chips.  You can also add some of the juice from the rib pan but keep in mind that this is mostly fat.

Cooking time: 3 hours, 15 minutes

Serves 3-4