Fajita Pozole with Easy Chipotle Masa Dumplings

I was first bitten by the travel bug when I got the opportunity to go to Mexico City in 2006. We were expanding a new branch of my company.  It was the middle of December, and it was sunny and beautiful...I remember marveling at the outdoor malls in the middle of what was a brutally cold winter back home.

What really made me fall in love with Mexico, though, was the food.  Fresh avocado every day, homemade corn tortillas... it was heaven.  I could have gleefully stayed at the hotel and worked as a maid and gained 20 happy pounds eating all that amazing fare.

There was only one culinary item that I wasn't a fan of.  We were in this super fancy five-star restaurant where each table is assigned a few waiters to stay at the table and do your bidding, and we had this amazing spread of a number of different items that you eat on tortillas.  One of the items they insisted we try was something called Mexican Caviar.  This was before I was vegan, so I decided to be adventurous and give it a whirl.  I was well into my second tortilla loaded with the dish, when between sips of tequila they told us that Mexican caviar really was...

...ant eggs.

 I was eating ant eggs.  I choked down the rest of mine, and my poor coworker, who was in the middle of a bite of hers, discreetly pushed her half-eaten tortilla to the side of her plate and filled up on ensalata.

Needless to say, surprise ant eggs is one of the things I don't have to worry about now!

One food I really fell in love with in Mexico was hominy.  Hominy is a type of field corn, or maize, that has been soaked and cooked in a diluted alkaline solution of lime or wood ash,, and it is absolutely delicious.  Pozole is a type of stew traditionally made with hominy and some type of protein- meat, traditionally, but also beans for vegan or vegetarian versions.

Because I love melding food, I took fajitas and pozole and spliced them into one supreme dish...the "meat", peppers, and onions are sliced and seasoned as fajitas would be.

I also added chipotle masa dumplings, because everything is better with dumplings.

This turned out freaking amazing.  Enjoy!

FAJITA POZOLE WITH EASY CHIPOTLE MASA DUMPLINGS

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 red onion, cut into half-moons
1 red pepper, thinly sliced lengthwise
1 green pepper, thinly sliced lengthwise
2 PC meatless chicken breasts, Gardein chicken breasts, chickenless seitan or tofu, cut into thin slices on the bias
1 package PC or Gardein beefless tips (do not cut if using beefless tips), beefless seitan, or portabello mushrooms, cut on the bias into thin slices
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1 can hominy, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large can diced tomatoes
2 cups veggie broth
2 tbsp corn starch mixed with additional 1/4 cup veggie broth to make a slurry

FOR THE MASA DUMPLINGS
1 cup masa harina flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp chipotle powder
1 cup water

TO SERVE
chopped cilantro
chopped avocado
lightly crushed corn chips
vegan mozzarella or pepperjack cheese, shredded
lime juice
Mexican hot sauce
cooked rice

DIRECTIONS:
Saute the onions and garlic over medium heat in a large, heavy bottomed saucepan until translucent and fragrant.  Add cumin, chili powder, and oregano and saute for another minute, stirring occasionally.  Add peppers, meatless chicken and beefless tips, sauteing until everything is nicely browned.  Add the hominy, black beans, diced tomatoes (juices and all), and veggie broth and mix together then bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.  Meanwhile, make the dumplings.  Mix the masa harina, chipotle powder, and salt together and then add in the water until a stiff dough is formed.  Form into small dumplings, and carefully place gently on top of the stew...you don't want them to fall in, you want them to steam up on top of the stew.  Cover well and cook for 35 minutes, then add the cornstarch slurry and cook for another 5 minutes.  Let cool for 15 minutes and serve pozole over rice with a sprinkling of lime, cilantro, avocado, Mexican hot sauce, corn chips and vegan cheese.
Enjoy!