Recipe: Alison Roman’s Summer Vegetable Soup With Hominy and Lime

Alison Roman’s cookbook Something From Nothing is all about harnessing the power of your pantry. But if you don’t have hominy (dried, nixtamalised corn kernels) on hand, this recipe makes a great case for seeking out a tin of the Latin American staple from a specialty grocer.

“This soup could easily become very boring very quickly, but... it doesn’t,” she writes of the pozole hero, which imparts an “irreplaceable, pleasantly bouncy, chewy texture and a toasty corn-chip flavour” to this dish. If you can’t find hominy, you could also get away with a tinned legume of your choice, such as chickpeas or cannellini beans.

From there, it’s just a matter of using whatever summer veg you’ve picked up. But if she had to pick two, Roman recommends barely cooked or frozen corn (“for tenderness and a delicate sweetness”) and zucchini, cut into big chunks to braise and soften in the broth.

What’s more, this soup makes “fantastic” leftovers. Store in the fridge for up to three days (without coriander or lime), or freeze for a couple of months.

Alison Roman’s summer vegetable soup with hominy and lime

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
2 large yellow or white onions, finely chopped, divided
4 garlic cloves, chopped
¾ tsp ground cumin
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
675–900g zucchini or other summer squash, cut into large chunks
1 jalapeno, very thinly sliced, divided (seeds in or out, your preference)
1.9L (8 cups) vegetable or chicken stock
2 x 400g tins hominy or bean of your choice, drained and rinsed
3 corn cobs, shucked and kernels removed (about 375g or 2½ cups corn kernels, if using frozen)
1 bunch coriander, finely chopped
2–4 limes, halved

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over a medium-high heat. Add about three quarters of the onion (reserve the rest to add at the end), the garlic and cumin, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and starting to brown at the edges, 5–8 minutes.

Add the zucchini and half of the jalapeno and season again with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini has started to soften and brown around the edges, 8–10 minutes.

Add the stock, hominy and corn and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini has completely softened and started to break down a bit (without totally turning to mush), 20–25 minutes.

Add the remaining jalapeno and half of the coriander. Season again with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and top with the remaining onion and coriander and serve with limes for squeezing over the top.

This is an edited extract from Something from Nothing by Alison Roman, published by Quadrille. Available in stores nationally. Photography by Chris Bernabeo.