Posole appears as a signature dish in 2 United States cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Posole · Albuquerque
Hominy and pork stew with red chile, oregano and lime, traditionally eaten at Christmas and New Year. Pueblo Indian roots, Spanish refinement, an everyday winter staple.
Posole has Pueblo Indian roots in pre-Columbian New Mexico, using nixtamalized corn (hominy). The Spanish added pork after colonization in the 1600s. Across New Mexico the stew is the Christmas Eve and New Year's tradition, eaten for prosperity in the new year. Pueblo Harvest Cafe at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center serves the modern Pueblo version year round.
Where to eat in Albuquerque:
- Pueblo Harvest Cafe
- Mary and Tito's Cafe
- Sadie's of New Mexico
- Barelas Coffee House
Posole · Santa Fe
Hominy corn slow-simmered with pork shoulder, red chile and oregano; finished with cabbage, lime and radish. A Christmas Eve fixture in Northern New Mexico.
Pre-Columbian in origin, posole came north from Mexico into the Pueblo and Spanish kitchens of the Rio Grande Valley centuries ago. Northern New Mexico's version uses dried hominy (chicos) and red chile as the base; the dish anchors Christmas Eve and New Year's tables across Santa Fe households and shows up on every traditional restaurant menu.
Where to eat in Santa Fe:
- The Shed
- La Choza
- Plaza Cafe Downtown