quick shrimp pozole

As you know, today is Cinco de Mayo—a day on which many Americans celebrate Mexican culture and the defeat of the French by the Mexican army in 1862 at the Battle of Puebla, mostly by breaking out the salt-rimmed margarita glasses and eating a plateful of nachos.

In commemoration of this kind of fake U.S. holiday, I made a kind of fake pozole. Because making pozole the traditional way with dried, uncooked hominy is rather tedious and time consuming, and sometimes a lot of times you just don't have all day.

I used this Bon Appetit recipe for Shrimp and Scallop Posole as the base for my recipe. I ended up swapping out the clam juice for chicken broth; replacing the salsa verde with some of TJ's homemade salsa roja that's been hanging out in the fridge for a couple of weeks; doubling the hominy 'cause that's my favorite part of pozole; eliminating the grated lime peel; replacing the sun-dried tomatoes with plum tomatoes; doubling the shrimp and leaving out the scallops; and throwing in a dash of cayenne for some kick.

For the record, while the soup was a tasty, tasty success, canned hominy really does pale exceedingly to the real thing. I had a can of generic Kroger brand white hominy and a can of Bush's white hominy; it turns out that I prefer the former, which was chewier and larger-grained.

Quick Shrimp Pozole

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced (or if you're feeling extra lazy like me, a nice spoonful of that minced garlic in a jar)
• 3 cups water
• 3 chicken bouillon cubes
• 2 (15-ounce) cans white hominy, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup salsa
• 2 plum tomatoes, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more if you're adventurous)
• 2 pounds uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on
• 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro, divided

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; stir about 30 seconds. Add 3 cups water and next 5 ingredients to pan; simmer 5 minutes.

Add shrimp and 1/4 cup of cilantro to simmering broth, adding 2-3 cups of additional water to thin soup as much as you like. Simmer until shrimp is just opaque in center. (Edited to add: at this point, you'll also want to skim and discard any foamy stuff that rises to the top of the soup.) Season with salt and pepper. Divide among bowls; sprinkle with remaining cilantro.

Optional: top with shredded cabbage, sliced radishes, and a squeeze of lime. Eat with a guacamole-smothered tostada on the side.