Mexican Hominy Soup (Posole)

I'm in the midst of editing my Shallows of the Sun book and came across the place where Anna Diehl and Commander Cortez are having lunch and she orders posole. Anna loves soup of all kinds as you'll see when you read the books. This is one of her favorites, so thought I'd post the recipe since it's one she made up back in the fieldwork house in Belén where she's staying for the course of her fieldwork. :-)

Posole (or Pozole) -- Mexican Hominy Soup

Soup Ingredients:

8 Country Style Spareribs
Water (enough to cover ribs)
1 large (or 2 medium) white onion, roughly chopped (quartered, then halved)
2 cloves garlic (remove at end)
2-3 cans chicken broth (Posole)
2-3 cans hominy (I use 2 white, 1 yellow)

Cooking Directions:

Cover ribs with water, add onion and garlic and simmer until meat is tender and falling off bone. Remove ribs and strip off the tender meat, cut up if necessary and return meat to pot. Add hominy and broth and bring just to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Serve anytime, but it's better the next day.

To Serve:

Add the following to each empty soup bowl--
1/4 avocado sliced
1/2 c. chopped lettuce
finely chopped white or green onions
chopped cilantro to taste.
Optional: sliced radishes and lime wedges. Ladle soup over top. Then season with a teaspoon (or more) of green sauce (salsa verde).

My current favorite salsa verde is Del Primo green sauce, which I buy in a Mexican grocery. It tastes most authentic to me.

Number Of Servings: A lot
Preparation Time: 1/2 hour + cooking time.