Chicken, Hominy and Pinto Bean Stew

Name: Chicken, Hominy and Pinto Bean Stew
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 180 min
Ingredients: 1/2 pound dried hominy (soaked in water to cover for 8 to 24 hours, or 4 cups cooked (2 15-ounce cans )); 1 head of garlic (with peel on, halved horizontally (if cooking hominy only)); 3/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt (if cooking hominy); 1/2 recipe frijoles de olla (using pinto beans (3 cups cooked beans), or 2 15-ounce cans); 1 4- to 5- pound whole chicken (cut up into 8 to 10 serving pieces); 1/2 white onion; 4 garlic cloves (peeled); 1 fresh Anaheim chile (stemmed, seeded, cut in quarters); 10 stems fresh cilantro; 2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt; 1 fresh Anaheim chile; 1/4 white onion (halved); 2 garlic cloves (unpeeled); 10 sprigs cilantro; 1 cup chopped white onion; 1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and top part of stems; Crushed chiletpin chiles (may substitute finely chopped chiles de arbol, ground chile piquin or red pepper flakes); 2 limes (quartered)

Gallina Pinta

Recipe Yield

6 to 8 servings

Cooking time

3 hours 30 minutes

Rate this recipe

4.72 from 7 votes

Ingredients

1/2 pound dried hominy soaked in water to cover for 8 to 24 hours, or 4 cups cooked (2 15-ounce cans )
1 head of garlic with peel on, halved horizontally (if cooking hominy only)
3/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt if cooking hominy
1/2 recipe frijoles de olla using pinto beans (3 cups cooked beans), or 2 15-ounce cans

For the chicken:

1 4- to 5- pound whole chicken cut up into 8 to 10 serving pieces
1/2 white onion
4 garlic cloves peeled
1 fresh Anaheim chile stemmed, seeded, cut in quarters
10 stems fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt

For the Anaheim seasoning sauce:

1 fresh Anaheim chile
1/4 white onion halved
2 garlic cloves unpeeled
10 sprigs cilantro

For garnish:

1 cup chopped white onion
1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and top part of stems
Crushed chiletpin chiles may substitute finely chopped chiles de arbol, ground chile piquin or red pepper flakes
2 limes quartered

To Prepare

Strain soaked hominy and rinse. Place in a large pot, add water to cover by at least 4 to 5 inches, and add the halved head of garlic. Set over high heat and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce to medium heat, skim off foam, cover partially and simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until the hominy “blooms” or opens up. Once the kernels are very soft and you see them opening on the top like a flower, add salt, stir, turn off the heat, and set aside and let cool. Do not continue to cook or the hominy will fall apart. If making the frijoles de olla, you may do so while the hominy cooks. If using canned hominy and beans, you may skip this step.

To cook the chicken:

Do this while the hominy and beans are cooking. Place the cut up chicken in a large soup pot or casserole. Cover generously with water by at least 2 to 3 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium-low, skim off foam and add the halved onion, 4 peeled garlic cloves, the quartered fresh Anaheim chile, 10 stems of cilantro and 2 teaspoons salt. Cover partially and simmer for 1 hour, until the chicken is falling away from the bone. Remove from heat, transfer the chicken pieces to a bowl and let cool until you can handle them. Strain the broth, set aside 1 cup, and return the rest to the soup pot.
Discard the onion, garlic, Anaheim and cilantro. Remove the skin from the chicken and discard. Remove meat from the bones, tear it into small pieces, and return it to the strained broth.

To make seasoning sauce:

Preheat the broiler with the rack adjusted at the highest setting. Cover a baking sheet with foil and top with the fresh Anaheim chile, the onion quarter, and the 2 unpeeled garlic cloves. Broil for about 10 to 12 minutes, flipping the vegetables over halfway through, until completely charred on the outside and soft on the inside. The garlic will be done before the other ingredients, usually halfway through, and should be removed from the baking sheet when you see that it is charred and softened. Alternatively, you can roast the vegetables on a comal over medium heat, flipping them over every 4 to 5 minutes, until charred.
Place the chile in a plastic bag and let it sweat for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the skin, stem and seeds from the chile and peel the garlic. Cut the chile into pieces and place it in a blender along with the charred onion, the peeled roasted garlic cloves and 10 sprigs of fresh cilantro. Add the cup of strained chicken broth that you set aside, and puree until completely smooth. Pour back into the soup pot or casserole with the chicken and remaining broth.
Remove the onion from the pinto beans and stir the beans into the soup pot, along with 1 cup of their broth (or more, to taste). If using canned beans, rinse and add to the soup pot. Discard the halved head of garlic you added to the hominy and add the cooked hominy along with 1 cup of its liquid (or more to taste) to the soup pot. If using canned hominy, drain, rinse, and add to the pot.
Return the pot to medium heat, bring to a simmer and simmer, partially covered, for 15 to 20 minutes. You will know it’s ready when the seasoning sauce pools on the surface into tiny dark green puddles that are a darker green than the rest of the soup. Taste and adjust salt.
Serve and let everyone garnish with chopped white onion, cilantro, chiltepin chiles and a squeeze of fresh lime.

Comments

30comments inChicken, Hominy and Pinto Bean Stew

Storm Britten (moon man)

Feb 19

I just made this this morning for our dinner. It is absolutely fracking delicious and I can’t wait. I made a huge pot. Instead of a whole chicken I used thighs only. Super moist and the broth is earthy and fragrant with yummy flavor. Will serve with some onions and lime and corn tortillas.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Feb 27
  
  Yum! So glad to hear you liked this stew so much!
  
Dan & Paula

Dec 23

🙋‍♀️ HI Pati! My Honeybuns and I 💕 love your beautiful country and recipes! We do have a suggestion for y’all to try. Use a cast iron skillet and fry the homeny first until browned, then add to beans! Sooo Good!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Jan 13
  
  Sounds like a plan Dan and Paula, thanks for sharing!
  
Elva

May 16

Such simple ingredients and so delicious. I used half chicken with half beans but kept the rest of the recipe as directed. I was going to share, but decided perhaps on my next batch. Thank you 😊

1. Pati Jinich
  
  May 17
  
  Glad you liked it Elva, un abrazo!
  
Toni Holguin

May 09

I’ve had gallina pinta before but it didn’t have any pollo in it. It was made with neck bones, shanks and ox tails. Your recipe is a little healthier and less expensive. Thank you so much for the recipe. I will try it soon.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  May 13
  
  So glad you like my version of this classic dish Toni 😉
  
Eileen Goostree

Apr 09

Can’t wait to try the salad with Jicama, cheote & green apple & the quac dressing. I will make the chicken stew with hominy & pint-sized. Sounds yummy. Watched your show today. Thank you for the wonderful recipes.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Apr 12
  
  My pleasure Eileen, so happy you are giving these recipes a chance 🙂
  
Karen L

Mar 30

Oh my GOODNESS!!!! Making this right at this moment. Chicken is simmering. Sauce is ready! Hominy & leftover pintos ready. House smells sooooo good. Will enjoy it for dinner after church tonight. Cannot. WAIT!!! Thank you Pati! Love your recipes and latest cookbook.
#icookbecauseilovetoeat

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Apr 04
  
  Love the hashtag! So happy you went for this recipe Karen it is super hearty and yummy 😉
  
Ruby Ballesteros

Feb 09

My friend made a soup but only homily and beans. She didn’t like sharing recipes. Thank you for sharing yours. I will make soon , I prefer cooking homily and beans.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Feb 10
  
  I hope you enjoy this stew Ruby 🙂
  
Barbara

Oct 25

Great recipe. I had a lot of broth, so I used three anaheim chiles, 3 cloves of garlic, and more cilantro.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Oct 29
  
  Good job Barbara, so glad you liked this stew 🙂
  
Valerie

Apr 11

I also saw this episode today, a rerun apparently, and it seemed like fate because I had just made chicken stock, had made pinto beans the night before, and had hominy. I didn’t even have to go shopping. This was the best pozole I’ve ever made, so many times mine ends up kind of bland but not this time!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Apr 11
  
  Awesome! So happy you liked it Valerie 😉
  
Olga M A

Jan 24

I watched this episode this morning and it looked delicious. I walked to the store and made this soup. My kids loved it and said I should definitely make it again. I garnished it with red cabbage and lime. Delicious!!!
Thank you,
San Jose, CA

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Feb 01
  
  So glad everyone approved Olga, yay!
  
Harry Baulisch

Jan 18

I saw this recipe on television, last Friday night. On Saturday, I shopped for ingredients not realizing how difficult it was to find Anaheim Peppers. Ha, I found them at Wally’s World! On Sunday, I set about preparing and cooking your recipe. The whole process took me almost three hours but, well worth the time and effort invested in this pot of soup. The soup had such a clean, refreshing flavor and one could taste an d feel the different textures offered by the pinto beans, hominy, and chicken. I chose not to add salt to the cooking process. I loved it and “thank you” for sharing this recipe with your viewers. Next time, I will find those Chili Tepins to add as garnish.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Jan 21
  
  So glad you liked it Harry! It is a process that takes some time, but I am delighted you found it worth it 😉
  
Angela Torres

Dec 03

Hola Pati, I want to say THANK YOU for always inspiring me to learn Mexican cuisine ! Mexican food is one of my Favorite ethnic foods and I record every episode of your show excited to learn and try something new : )
I live in the US with my Mexican~ American teenage daughter and my husband was unfortunately deported back to Puebla just after our daughter was born ! It is so important to me to teach my daughter foods from her heritage that she would otherwise be missing out on. We’ve tried so many of your recipes and she LOVES when I’m in the kitchen whipping up something new from Mexico ! You inspired me to make homemade tortillas, Horchata, Sopes, Tres Leche, next we are making Chicken Hominy Pinto Stew ! Again, Muchas Gracias! We Love you and your show !

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Dec 06
  
  Muchas gracias to you and your daughter Angela for tuning in and for giving a chance to my recipes. Un abrazo grande!
  
Betty James

Nov 28

I’ve been following you for years on PBS Pati and I love you and your family
. happy Thanksgiving.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Dec 02
  
  Thanks so much Betty, hope you had a great Thanksgiving as well 😉
  
Maria

Nov 27

Hola pati we love watching all videos thanks

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Dec 02
  
  Thanks to you for tuning in Maria 🙂
  
Ed Moran

Nov 23

Hola Pati, you are just a Mexican national treasure for us here in the U.S. I go to Sonora a week month from Tucson and I know it well – or I thought! Your choices for Sonora: recipes, restaurants, places, chef friends, photography – everything – has been fabulous.
Your warm personality is like chiltepin for everything, haha !!!! Thank you, we are the ones in awe!!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Dec 02
  
  Ed, thanks so much! Love to think of myself as a chiltepin, haha 🙂

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