Pozole an earthy soup made of pork and hominy. It’s a easy soup with few ingredients.

Pozole

1 lb. boneless pork roast

1/2 tsp salt

4 cups water

4 dried ancho chili peppers, stemmed and seeded

5 cloves garlic

1 1/2 tsp. dried Mexican oregano

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 onion, diced

24 oz. well-drained canned hominy

4 cups chicken stock

Garnishes:

Fried tortilla shreds or chips

sliced radishes

shredded lettuce

diced onions

diced avocado

lime wedges

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the pork roast into 1 inch cubes. Place cubed pork into a large heavy bottomed pot; place in oven and roast meat for 15 to 20 minutes or until meat is caramelized. Remove from oven and add the water to the meat. Over medium high heat bring meat mixture to a boil and reduce to a low simmer for about 20 minutes or until meat begins to be just tender. Place dried peppers in a large bowl. Strain the meat and broth over the peppers in the bowl. Allow the peppers to steep in the hot broth for 20 minutes. Transfer the peppers, liquid , garlic and oregano into a blender and process until smooth. Add diced onion to the soup pot the meat was roasted in and saute in the vegetable oil until onion begin to turn golden. Pour the pepper mixture into the pot along with the meat and hominy. Pour in the chicken stock. Bring to boil and allow to simmer until meat is tender. Add more chicken stock if needed. Adjust seasonings as needed. Serve with garnishes.

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Chocolate-Pistachio Cannoli

Cannoli dough:

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup sweet Marsala

Corn oil for frying

Filling:

2 lbs. Mascarpone , room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup chopped pistachios

6 oz. chopped semisweet chocolate

Garnish:

Chopped pistachios

Melted chocolate to dip ends into.

Dough:

In a bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade add the dough ingredients and process until a dough begins to form. Remove from bowl and knead until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Filling:

In a bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade add all the filling ingredients and process until smooth. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip. Refrigerate until ready to fill cannoli.

Heat 2 inches of oil to 375 degrees.

Remove dough from the refrigerator and divide in half. Using a pasta machine or you can roll out dough very thin to the thickness of won ton wrappers. If the dough is not thin enough the cannoli will be chewy rather than crisp. Using a 4 inch round cutter , cut out the rounds of dough. Wrap each round around a cannoli tube/form. Lightly brush the edges that meet with beaten egg to glue together. Fry in hot oil until golden. This  happens very quick , about 30 seconds. Carefully remove from oil and allow to drain on paper towels. When cool enough to handle carefully slide the cannoli off the tubes/forms. Allow to cool completely. Once cooled , dip ends in melted chocolate and set aside for chocolate to set up.

When chocolate on ends are set, fill generously with filling and dip ends into chopped pistachios. Only fill cannoli as needed. If filled in advance the crisp shell will become soggy.

Fried cannoli shells, stored in airtight containers freeze beautifully.