Roasted Garlic-Cilantro Broth With Beet Greens and Hominy

That was a mouthful.  The title, not the soup.  The soup was a mouthful too.  And it was deeelicious.  The kids weren't on board with this one.  It's pretty potent in the cilantro department.  Which is why The Dad and I loved it.  A little too much flavor for the kidlets, though.  You can't win 'em all.

This one came from the newspaper.  I was a little worried about the hominy being too reminiscent of corn niblets, (see 25 Things You Don't Know About Me for an explanation of my concern), but it wasn't at all.  It was more starchy than corny.  Kinda like a garbanzo bean.  But different.  That didn't help at all, did it?

Here's the recipe with my notes:

Roasted Garlic-Cilantro Broth With Beet Greens and Hominy

1 head garlic, roasted (see note)
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp olive oil, divided
4 1/2 C chicken broth (use veggie broth to make it vegetarian)
1 C chopped fresh cilantro (see note)
1/4 yellow onion, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 bunch beet greens with 3 inches of stem attached, chopped (I couldn't find any beet greens this shopping trip, so I subbed chard)
2 Tbsp dry sherry (I subbed red wine)
2 C canned hominy, drained and rinsed (I used yellow)
1 to 2 C water
Lime wedges for garnish (don't skip these - the lime took it up a notch)

Garlic Note:  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Peel away the outside layers of skin on the head of garlic, making sure the head stays intact.  Cut off the top of the head to expose the cloves.  Place garlic head on a piece of aluminum foil and drizzle 1 tsp of olive oil across the top.  Enclose the garlic in the foil and place on a baking sheet (I just threw mine on the oven rack); roast for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of the head.  You can do this ahead of time.  If you've got the oven on for dinner - throw in your head of garlic for later in the week.  It stores just fine in the fridge.

Cilantro Note:  The freshness of the cilantro is key in this soup.  Make sure you get a fragrant bunch.

The cilantro I pulled out of my fridge was slimy and disgusting.  

When I found it, I cussed.  

Not what I'd call a fragrant bunch - at least not the aroma I was goin' for.

Then I remembered I had some in the garden.  

I may have done a little happy dance. 

Okay, maybe just a head bob.

Ya know, SNL style.

"what is love, baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more"

Oh dear lord someone stop me.

Squeeze 10 of the roasted cloves into a blender.  

Add the broth and cilantro and blend until cilantro is reduced to little specks.

 

 

Heat remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil in a pan.  

Add onion, salt and pepper flakes and saute for 1 minute.  

 

 

Add greens and saute for 2 minutes.  

(I accidentally didn't follow directions.  I put my greens in after the broth was in.  It turned out just fine.)

 

 

 Pour in sherry, garlic-cilantro broth, hominy and water.  

Start with 1 C water and add addtional - up to 1 C more - to reach desired consistency and flavor.  

Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.  

I let mine go longer and the bright green color vanished.  

If you're serving company or just want a prettier bowl of soup, make it at the last minute. 

Garnish with lime wedges.

 

We had ours with melon and The Dad's World Famous Quesadillas.  

Okay, maybe they're not world famous, but they're amazingly good.

 

Here's dinner in my bowl: